Cork Social Democrats TDs raise concerns over mental health services 

Two Cork Social Democrats TDs raised a number of issues in relation to the provision of mental health services during a Dáil debate on the topic on Tuesday.

Liam Quaide, who worked as a clinical psychologist before being elected a TD for Cork East, told the Dáil: “It is difficult not to fall into a position of perpetual complaint and outrage at times because there is so much unmet need out there and sometimes decisions are made that are not in the interests of people attending our services.”

However, he acknowledged “there are also very fine examples of services from which we can draw inspiration and learning”, including the Coolmine East Cork hub, the launch of which he visited last Friday in Midleton.

The hub is a joint venture between the HSE’s social inclusion team and Coolmine which provides community-based support for people with addiction.

Mr Quaide highlighted the importance of this community support, saying his previous North Cork mental health service colleagues worked helping long stay patients of St Stephen’s hospital in Glanmire to reintegrate back into their communities, which he described as “painstaking, complex and ultimately transformative work”.

However, he said the HSE’s proposal to invest €64m to develop a 50-bed residential mental health service at St Stephen’s is entirely at odds with that progressive trend and national mental health policy.

“It will lock vast amounts of public money into a centralised, isolated service when it should be spent on community-integrated settings in towns such as Cobh and Clonakilty where none exist.”

The land around St Stephen’s is zoned for agricultural use and the nearest shop is a service station a 1.7km walk from the hospital’s entrance, with no footpath for the first kilometre of the route, and no other community amenities nearby, he said.

“This proposal, therefore, does not remotely reflect the kind of community integration espoused by 'A Vision for Change', 'Sharing the Vision', or the HSE’s policy for people with severe and enduring mental illness and complex needs.” 

He also appealed to the minister of state to engage intensively with frontline staff in mental health services, highlighting the importance of increased recruitment.

His party colleague Pádraig Rice, TD for Cork South Central, called for increased funding for services, saying: “For far too long mental health services have been the Cinderella of our health services”.

He called for the government to honour a Sláintecare commitment for the mental health budget to represent about 10% of the overall health budget, instead of the 5.8% it currently represents.

Mr Rice said implementation of the national mental health policy, 'Sharing the Vision', “is simply not happening quickly enough”.