Finian McGrath
Question:603. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the mental health services for young persons in 2013, and the urgent need to deal with the suicide issue [2522/13]
View answerTuesday, 22 January 2013
Questions (603)
Written answers
Dealing with the current high levels of suicide and deliberate self harm is a priority for this Government. Reach Out our National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention recognises the youth sector as a high risk group and sets out a number of specific actions. Consequently, the HSE's National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) has developed a range of initiatives aimed specifically at supporting young people who are suicidal and also supporting their peers in recognising and responding appropriately to signs of emotional distress and suicidal thoughts.
A wide range of awareness and training programmes are available in the area of mental health promotion and suicide prevention. These include SafeTALK which trains participants to become more alert to the possibility of suicide in their community and other training programmes such as Reaching Out, ASIST, Taking Control, MindOut and STOP.
A number of media awareness campaigns have been run in recent years including the Let someone know campaign which focused specifically on young people and delivered the message that it is important to reach out and seek the support of others. Other awareness programmes include the The Please Talk initiative, running in third level colleges since 2007, which encourages young people experiencing problems to talk to others and identifies the supports available to those in need.
Jigsaw, an innovative community-based support service for young people, has been developed by Headstrong and is designed to promote systems of care that are accessible, youth-friendly, integrated, and engaging for young people. Through additional Innovation Funding, this service is now available or in development in 11 sites around the country.
Schools are one of the key settings for the promotion of mental health and well-being of young people and they are also in the position to identify young people experiencing emotional difficulties. The Departments of Health and Education and Skills have been working closely with the HSE and the NOSP to develop Guidelines for Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention in post-primary schools. These Guidelines will be launched in the very near future.
The special provision of €35m for mental health in 2012 was allocated primarily for measures to further strengthen Community Mental Health Teams in both adult and children's mental health services, to advance activities in the area of suicide prevention and to initiate the provision of psychological and counselling services in primary care, specifically for people with mental health problems. 150 additional posts were allocated to Child and Adolescent Community Mental Health Teams in 2012. It is envisaged that the completion of the multidisciplinary profile of current teams will help progress the expansion of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to all young people up to 18 years and reduce the waiting lists for this service. Budget 2013 provides a further additional €35m for the continued development of our mental health services. The HSE National Service Plan, which was recently approved by the Minister for Health, commits to the further development of suicide prevention initiatives, forensics and community mental health teams for adults, children, older persons and mental health intellectual disability and to the recruitment of over 470 additional staff to implement these measures. I expect to see substantive progress in 2013 in relation to the strengthening of Community Mental Health Teams.
The fourth Annual Report on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), published by the HSE in December 2012 provides a detailed picture of the current stage of development of the HSE’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Progress in a number of key areas includes a 10% increase in the number of new cases seen by CAMHS in the period October 2011 – September 2012, the introduction of new access protocols for 16 and 17 year olds and the continued reduction in the number of children and adolescents admitted to adult units.