Mental Health Reform Vital to Combat Economic and Social Difficulty
Issued by the Mental Health Coalition
Embargoed: 8th October 2009
MENTAL HEALTH REFORM VITAL TO COMBAT ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DIFFICULTY
Funding must be linked to service reform and accountability
The Irish Mental Health Coalition (IMHC) has today stated that mental health reform must be central to Government response to the current economic and social difficulties. Launching their pre-budget submission, ahead of World Mental Health Day (10th October), the IMHC stated that restricting spending on mental health services will not necessarily lead to cost savings.
Chairman of the IMHC, John Saunders stated, “Cutting investment in mental health services is a false economy and will have long term consequences. The 2008 Mental Health Commission report “The Economics of Mental Health Care in Ireland” sets out a compelling economic case for investment, stating that policy makers cannot afford not to invest in mental health. It estimated that the annual overall cost of poor mental health in Ireland is €3 billion, or 2% of GNP.
“It would be counter productive to make cuts in mental health spending at a time when the number of people with mental health problems is increasing. Unemployment and debt are both major risk factors for developing mental health problems and the current economic reality will see an increasing demand on a service which is already struggling. Cut backs and restrictions will delay those seeking much needed help from accessing vital services. Such time delays will see individual situations deteriorate and consequently, people will need longer access to services when eventually seen. This incurs higher costs both in health service demand and other consequential costs such as withdrawal from work.
“Mental health services have already been heavily hit by cutbacks. Development funding of €2.8 million was committed in 2009, representing an 87 % reduction since 2007. Capital Funding has also been reduced by 71 % compared with 2005 figures.
“There is a real risk that the progress made in mental health, including reductions in the level of suicide, will be lost in face of increasing personal, social and financial crisis. Emerging figures support this worrying position, where official figures from the National Suicide Research Foundation show there were a total of 11,700 cases of deliberate self harm at hospital emergency departments in 2008. Nationally, self harm cases have increased by 6 %, with an 11 % increase in the level of reported self harm amongst men – the highest rate since records began six years ago.”
Mr. Saunders stated that accountability in public funding is now more important than ever, because adequate monitoring would ensure monies were being spent effectively.
“The IMHC is demanding increased accountability for spending linked to service reforms. A report recently produced by Indecon International Consulting for Amnesty International Ireland, reported that at the current rates of progress; it could take up to 10 years before full achievement of the staffing targets implicit in A Vision for Change. The review also highlighted the fact that there remains an over-reliance on traditional acute and long-stay inpatient beds within the Mental Health Services compared with the recommendations of A Vision for Change and this is unlikely to be consistent with achieving the best value for money.
“Gaps in services exist in most parts of the country. Less than half the numbers of staff needed for Community Mental Health Teams are in place and there are acute shortages in specialist services. The position of people with eating disorders is illustrative. In 2008 18% of children and adolescents admitted to mental health services related to eating disorders. Yet there is no specialist child and adolescent services or in-patient beds to meet the specialist needs of this group.”
“Many people with mental health difficulties continue to receive treatment in Victorian institutions which are simply unfit for purpose. The 2008 report for the Inspector of Mental Health Services made for troubling reading. Not only do conditions breach the most basic and fundamental rights, with patients devoid of minimum levels of privacy, adequate facilities, and at risk of injury, the facilities themselves remain a drain on public resources.
Mr. Saunders concluded that access to mental health services should not be considered a discretionary public service but a vital and sometimes emergency public service.
Further Information
Annmarie Brennan, Montague Communications: (01) 830 3116 or (087) 260 5896
NOTE TO EDITOR
The Irish Mental Health Coalition campaigns for improved and prioritised mental health services in Ireland.
The organisers of the campaign, are Amnesty International, Bodywhys – The Eating Disorders Association of Ireland, GROW in Ireland, the Irish Advocacy Network and Schizophrenia Ireland.
The Coalition seeks to improve the lives of people with mental health difficulties by advocating for people’s rights to the highest attainable standard of mental health and mental healthcare.
The campaign aims to increase the pressure on those with the power to improve mental health services.