Vol. 441 No. 3
3 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Health in which year was the last report of the Inspector of Mental Hospitals published; the reason the publication of subsequent reports has been delayed; and when he expects those reports to be published.
74 Miss Quill asked the Minister for Health the year in which the last report of the Inspector of Mental Hospitals was published; the reason the publication of subsequent reports has been delayed; and when he expects those reports to be published.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 74 together.
The most recent published report of the inspector of mental hospitals is the report for the year 1990. This report was published in 1993. The report in respect of 1991 is currently being printed and will be published shortly. The report for the year 1992 will be sent to the printers in the immediate future.
It is my intention that the report of inspector of mental hospitals will be published in the year following the year to which it refers. I hope to achieve that position before the end of this year.
Given the alleged commitment of this Government to openness and transparency does the Minister agree that it is anomalous that reports for the past three years of the inspector of mental hospitals have not been made available? Does he agree that this suggests that he is being secretive about the contents of the report? Given that the 1990 report, published in 1993 contained evidence of bad management and bad practices in our psychiatric hospitals which created a public outcry, will he agree that patients in psychiatric hospitals and their relatives deserve an objective report on the care being provided? Will the Minister try to defend the long delay?
I agree with much of what the Deputy said. It is my intention to ensure that information will be available. The Mental Treatment Act, 1945 requires the publication of reports. When I was appointed Minister 14 months ago the last report published was for the year 1989. I intend to publish by the end of this year the reports for 1990, 1991, 1992 and, I hope, 1993. It is my intention to ensure that from this year onwards reports of the inspector of mental hospitals will be published in the year following inspections.
The inspector is well respected and diligent and his reports are up to date. Will the Minister confirm that the reports have been compiled but have not yet been published? If so, is it not ridiculous to pay two people a salary to do this work, given that the information contained in these reports is not readily available to the public?
Few reports remain on my desk for long. I tend to be brisk in transacting business. I have been informed that it takes about six months to complete the process of inspection, issue a draft report, consider health board amendments and finalise the report. As I was not happy with the position I was determined to do something about it. From this year onwards reports will be published in the year following inspection.
