File photo of gardaí Image: Shutterstock/Damien Storan File photo of gardaí Image: Shutterstock/Damien Storan THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has exposed the urgent need for investment and reform of mental health services in Ireland, the Mental Health Commission has said.
The MHC says 2020 saw “considerable improvements in compliance across most units”, but warned that this may not be a true reflection of standards and quality in services as the pandemic resulted in some aspects of compliance monitoring being suspended, and the requirement that all inspections be announced to services in advance.
Both the expert group that reviewed the 2001 Mental Health Act six years ago, and the current Heads of Bill to amend the same Act, recommend that the only person to sign applications for involuntary admission to an inpatient centre should be an authorised officer of the health service. “Although individual care plans are provided for almost all inpatients with a mental illness, the quality is poor in most centres,” Dr Finnerty said.
There was 421 suicides in Ireland in 2019, there was an urgent need back then and it was ignored by the government then, and they will continue to do nothing in 2021. All this government do it talk. They only thing that gets done is higher taxes and pay increases for themselves
About time some attention was drawn to this
As well as highlighting deficiencies in health services it highlights the effects of covid restrictions and scaremongering messaging and should be a strong argument against them given that the risk posed by COVID-19 has and continues to rapidly diminish.
Online mental health & policing experts inbound ………. In 3….2…..