Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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2384. To ask the Minister for Health if she intends to implement the recommendations of the Mental Health Commission’s report into the level of mental health services provided in hospital emergency departments across all health regions in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20549/25]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Mental Health Commission plays an important, independent role in supporting and assisting in the development and improvement of mental health services. The Commission’s 2024 thematic report focused on mental health care in hospital Emergency Departments.

I welcome the Chief Inspector’s report and will work with the Department of Health and the HSE to expand the alternative care pathways and therapeutic environments for people presenting to emergency departments in mental health crisis.

The report of the Chief Inspector recommends improving the timeliness of mental health assessments following presentation to the emergency department, and for medical and mental health assessments to happen concurrently rather than sequentially, in line with international best practice. It is widely accepted emergency departments are an inappropriate environment for people in a mental health crisis, and that alternative care pathways and therapeutic environments should be developed.

I fully support the development of real alternatives to emergency departments and will continue to prioritise securing additional funding to continue their expansion.

Several initiatives and developments continue to be advanced to support access to services, and to ensure that people with mental health difficulties can access the emergency supports that they need. This includes:

• Prioritising ongoing work of the National Clinical Programme for Self-Harm and Suicidal Ideation in relation to the issue of assessment rooms and securing safe, dedicated spaces within all EDs for mental health assessments.
• National roll out of Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurses (SCAN), providing assessment and support to GP patients who present with suicide-related thoughts, who might otherwise be referred to the emergency department or community mental health services.
• The HSE's Child and Youth Mental Health Office Action Plan, launched in February 2025, commits to developing an Integrated Crisis Response Pathway for children and young people experiencing a Mental Health crisis across the 24/7 continuum of Care, including an improved child and youth liaison service with Emergency Departments.
• The roll out of a network of Crisis Resolution Teams, providing an extensive range of community focused mental health services, to address the needs of people requiring help with their mental health and reducing the requirement to access mental health care services at their local hospitals.
• A model of care for Liaison Psychiatry has been developed by the HSE and will be launched in Q2 2025.
• The Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) Operational Plan reduction in cumulative daily trolley count in 2024 and key focus in the 2025 plan on expansion of all UEC services into evenings and weekends.