Psychiatrists have called on the Government to provide firm deadlines for implementing A Vision for Change, the national mental health policy which was launched one year ago yesterday.
The Irish Psychiatric Association (IPA) said its members were "dismayed" that almost no progress had been made yet in delivering key recommendations.
The IPA published a progress report on the plan yesterday and said it would repeat this exercise every year to ensure that the policy was put into practice.
Dr Siobhán Barry, consultant psychiatrist and co-author of the report, said the health service was "littered" with reports that were never implemented and the IPA was determined it would not happen in this case.
Psychiatrists were "somewhat disappointed and betrayed by the failure to move this on", she said as they had taken part in the consultation process. She accepted it was a seven to 10-year plan but said action was crucial in the first years when people were enthusiastic for change.
"No capital programme crucial to replace the crumbling and shoddy parts of the service has yet been put in place," she said. "This, in a situation when we are currently enjoying a property bonanza. Seems quite crazy."
She said the promised National Mental Health Directorate that would drive organisational changes in the Health Service Executive (HSE) had not materialised. This would be relatively easy to put in place, she said.
Dr Éamonn Moloney, consultant psychiatrist and co-author of the progress report, said almost one-third of community mental health teams had less than half the staff they needed. He said 24 posts would be provided nationally this year, but 660 staff were required. "At the same rate of development, it will be 25 years before A Vision for Change will be implemented," he said. He also highlighted a lack of services and dedicated beds for older people with mental health problems, particularly for older people with dementia.
"If mental health doesn't get it in the good times, then God knows what's going to happen in the leaner times," he said.
Dr Barry called for "a firm achievable" set of deadlines for implementation of the policy.
A statement from the HSE said "a great deal of progress" had been made and "sustained roll-out will continue during 2007 with a further €25 million being allocated to achieve the report's proposals".
Martin Rogan, HSE assistant national director for mental health, said the sale of mental health facilities would continue this year, with the proceeds reinvested in mental health facilities.
Four child and adolescent in-patient facilities would be constructed and eight more child and adolescent multi-disciplinary teams would be rolled out, he said, and the National Service Users' Executive would be launched on January 31st.
