Minister for Mental Health urged to prioritise mental health in North West region

Donegal TD Charles Ward has called on the Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health, Mary Butler, to prioritise mental health in the North West region to account for all those impacted by the defective concrete crisis.

The 100% Redress TD was speaking in support of a motion that would require Model 3 and Model 4 hospitals to provide a dedicated mental health emergency room, separate from emergency departments. 

Deputy Ward said: “A dedicated mental health emergency room would be a game changer in the likes of Letterkenny hospital. It would allow patients suffering from mental health illnesses to get immediate, specialised care, care that is too often delayed, inaccessible, or in the case of Donegal, entirely absent in the current system. 

“It is devastating that, in this day and age, we still don’t treat mental illness with the same urgency and seriousness as physical illness, because the consequences are just as real and detrimental”.

He continued: “Investing in emergency mental health services makes sense and would have wide ranging impacts. The Mental Health Commission have reported that every year, an estimated 51,000 people access mental health services for the first time through a hospital emergency department. This shouldn’t be the case, there should be a dedicated, fully staffed place where people experiencing mental health difficulties can go.”

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The Donegal Deputy raised findings from Ulster University research regarding the mental health impact of the defective concrete crisis, which was published last year. The research found that rates of depression, anxiety and trauma-related disorders were all significantly higher among adults living in defective concrete homes, than in the general Irish population.

He said: “Donegal is facing a significant mental health crisis characterised by long waiting lists, rising demand and overstretched services, and compounded by a defective concrete crisis. Sadly, research conducted on children living in defective concrete homes showed a similar trend. Children being raised in this crisis are already experiencing profound and lasting effects on their mental health and emotional wellbeing.”

The 100% Redress leader also detailed the impact that the defective concrete crisis is having on elderly and vulnerable people in Donegal.

“I have been contacted by many elderly and vulnerable people whose personal experiences of this crisis are profoundly heartbreaking and deeply distressing,” said Deputy Ward. “They have been left in completely undignified, and frankly dangerous situations. Their mental health has been very negatively impacted by this experience.”

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This, he says, has had an impact on the entire county: “Trauma is not only being experienced individually, but as a community, as a county. Without timely and sustained intervention into the defective concrete crisis, there is a serious risk that these mental health difficulties will be carried forward into future generations, deepening inequality and placing further strain on already stretched services in Donegal.”

Deputy Ward asked Minister Butler to prioritise the provision of mental health facilities in Donegal to meet the demand and asked for an update on the transition of Radharc na Sleibhte in Carndonagh to a recovery-focused crisis intervention/set down facility.