Govt seem unwilling to stop downgrade of mental health services in Ballina and Castlebar

The Minister with responsibility for Mental Health Kathleen Lynch has failed to provide any reassurance that the planned downgrading of mental health services in Co Mayo will not proceed by the end of February. Minister Lynch was questioned on the Dáil last week by Fianna Fáil’s Dara Calleary about fears that the in-patient mental health services at St Joseph’s District Hospital in Ballina and the stand-alone unit at Teach Aisling in Castlebar will closed at the end of February.
 
Deputy Calleary told the Dáil that these units are an essential part of the health services in Co Mayo and he appealed to the Government to reconsider shutting them down.
 
The Mayo Fianna Fáil TD said: “The staff at both of these units provide a superb service.  They are selfless in their dedication not just to their patients but to patients' families and to the communities which they serve.  They are absolutely devastated by the consequences of this decision.  
 
“In the case of Teach Aisling, the irony is that it is being used by the HSE as a prototype of how services should be delivered.  If the health authorities recognise just how good the facility is, how can they justify shutting it down?  St Joseph’s in Ballina has ten nurses attached and is currently serving 60 service users.  It provides in-care treatment and provides 24-hour nursing care to individuals with chronic mental illness. It also supports those in the community with medication and advice.
 
“If these units are closed, the treatment of people in the community in what is geographically the third largest county will suffer.  The range of services available within the north Mayo community, which are keeping people in north Mayo in their homes, will suffer.  The acute unit in St. Teresa's, which is already under enough stress, will be put under more stress and people will suffer.  There is no way around this.”
 
In response to Deputy Calleary, Minister Lynch confirmed that mental health services in Mayo are under review in the context of the HSE’s Service Plan for 2012, which has been approved by Health Minister James Reilly. She said cutbacks will be necessary in 2012, and that the Government and the HSE are working to avoid “duplication of mental health services”.
 
Speaking afterwards, Deputy Calleary said: “Looking at the geography of Mayo, there is no question of a ‘duplication’ of mental health services been Ballina and Castlebar. It is a great disappointment that Minister Lynch cannot provide any reassurance about the future of these two facilities. I have invited the Minister to visit Mayo herself to see first-hand the critical service they provide. An extra €35 million euro and an additional 400 posts will be provided in the mental health services nationally in 2012-surely Mayo is entitled to its share of this?"