Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 24 Oct 1995

Vol. 457 No. 4

Written Answers. - Community Care for Former Patients.

Trevor Sargent

Question:

102 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Health his perception of the community in relation to mental health and if this community will have the level of expertise necessary to ensure that the level of support and care is not under-estimated. [15525/95]

Minister for Health (Mr. Noonan,

Limerick East): I presume the Deputy is referring to community care for former patients of our psychiatric hospitals.

The report of the study group on the development of our psychiatric services —"Planning for the Future"— which was published in 1984 and which has been accepted by successive Governments, recommended a shift in the delivery of services for those with mental illness from an institutional to a community based service. In line with the recommendations of the report, health boards, which are responsible for the delivery of psychiatric services, are developing comprehensive community based services. Older psychiatric hospitals are being replaced by acute psychiatric units attached to general hospitals while day hospitals, day centres and community residential accommodation are also being provided.

Patients who have lived in a hospital for some years cannot readily adapt to community living. Rehabilitation prior to discharge from hospital, which is concerned with returning skills to a person who has had them impaired by mental illness, is therefore essential to enable them to live in the community. Special rehabilitation wards for this purpose are a feature of our psychiatric hospitals. Patients may be transferred to low support, medium support or high support community residences following assessment and rehabilitation where they receive care and support of a standard normally provided in a hospital. All community residences are fully integrated with other components of the psychiatric services, such as day facilities, sheltered workshops and other support facilities, all of which enable the patient to enjoy normal community living.

I am fully satisfied that patients are not discharged to community living without first undergoing a rigorous pre-discharge assessment, without being fully prepared for community living, and that the necessary level of supervision and support is available to them.