The moratorium on recruitment of nurses to the mental health services will have to be eased if the Government’s plans to reform the sector are to proceed, Minister of State with responsibility for mental health John Maloney said today.
He said he asked for the issue to be put on the agenda for this afternoon’s Cabinet subcommittee meeting on health.
"It's very hard to deliver A Vision for Change on the ground unless the moratorium is somewhat eased," he said. "It would be impossible to carry out the reform," he added.
His comments at the publication of a report in Dublin by Amnesty International Ireland came a day after the Irish Mental Health Coalition (IMHC) called for an immediate end to the moratorium on recruiting and replacing essential staff in mental health services.
Caroline McGrath, director of the IMHC, said the moratorium was crippling the Government's reform programme, as outlined in its mental health policy A Vision for Change published in 2006.
"The Government's plan for moving from acute hospital care to a community-based service was based on redeploying existing staff and expanding the total number of staff. Instead, we have a service that is not even maintaining the status quo, but is haemorrhaging staff, reducing A Vision for Change to a mere pipe dream," she said.
“According to published HSE information, 719 posts have been lost in the past 14 months. This is a brutal cut and a fatally flawed attempt to save money,” she added.
Mr Maloney said he would be announcing detailed plans for the implementation of A Vision for Change next Monday. He will outline how €50 million will be spent on capital developments in the mental health sector this year, as well as the money expected to be realised from the sale of 14 old psychiatric hospitals over the next three years.
No matter how much is generated from the sale of these hospitals, some €50 million will be invested each year over the next few years in capital developments in the mental health sector, he said.
The Irish Council for Social Housing will help provide accommodation for patients leaving the old psychiatric hospitals,” he added.
At a press conference held in Dublin this morning to launch a new report into mental health, Amnesty International Ireland criticised the Government over its failure to fully implement the recommendations included in A Vision for Change.
Amnesty executive director Colm O’Gorman also called for a more co-ordinated approach to mental health from governmental departments.
“There have been some welcome developments in Ireland such as the establishment of the Office for Disability and Mental Health with a cross departmental remit and the promised chapter specifically focusing on mental health in the Housing Strategy for people with disabilities from the Department of Enterprise, Heritage and Local Government," he said.
"However, most departments have not taken specific action on mental health or even explicitly recognised A Vision for Change as their policy.
"If the Government is serious about reducing impatient care in line with the policy set out in A Vision for Change it must recognise the crucial role that other departments must play in making this vision a reality," said Mr O'Gorman.
The Missing Link: Coordinated Government Action on Mental Health report outlines ways in which various departments such as Social and Family Affairs, Education and Science, Justice and Enterprise, Trade and Employment can take steps to address the problems experienced by people with mental health issues.