Duncan Smith
Question:88. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health for an update on the provision of bereavement counselling services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7764/23]
View answerThursday, 16 February 2023
Questions (88)
Oral answers (6 contributions)
I am looking for an update on the strategy for counselling and bereavement services throughout the State. The two areas I will focus on in my contributions are bespoke supports for people who lost someone during the Covid crisis and bereavement and counselling supports for young children.
I thank Deputy Smith. I am delighted that he has raised this issue. It is not something that we get to discuss very much. It is only when people are bereaved that they use these supports. It is important that people know they are available.
Responsibility for bereavement counselling and associated services lies across a variety of services areas. This is why it can be confusing for people. The national counselling service, NCS, is an essential part of the HSE's mental health provision and provides a professional and confidential counselling and psychotherapy service. The service is available in all HSE community health areas and operates from more than 240 locations throughout Ireland.
In 2021 I launched the national suicide bereavement support guide. Developed by a working group of individuals bereaved by suicide and HSE resource officers for suicide prevention, the guide is now a cornerstone of informative level 1 bereavement support. Counselling support is provided at four different levels. Level 1 is HSE public health information campaigns. The HSE website details useful information and resources for the general public on grief and bereavement. Level 2 is the Irish Hospice Foundation's bereavement support line. This is staffed by trained volunteers to provide a listening and support service. The service is available from Monday to Friday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The NCS has collaborated with the Irish Hospice Foundation, which can signpost callers to HSE counselling services where appropriate.
Level 3 is counselling in primary care. The HSE NCS counselling in primary care, CIPC, service is available in each county in Ireland. It provides generic counselling for mild to moderate psychological distress. It is accessible only to GMS patients who are referred by GPs and other health professionals. A contract for an initial assessment and eight counselling sessions is offered. Bereavement loss is a significant reason for referrals to CIPC. I will come back on the rest of the questions the Deputy has asked.
Level 3 is where we find that people are unable to access the service, particularly young people. Phoneline support is not something that young children need. They might need group therapy or one-to-one therapy. Rainbows Ireland is a wonderful organisation that provides counselling and bereavement services and services for children whose parents have separated. It provides public and school-based services but it is not in every school. It is very difficult to get its public service for children in a school where it does not operate. There are gaps. If we are to focus on the emotional and social development of children who have lost a parent we need more one-to-one and group therapy services for them. We need services such as Rainbows Ireland to be more widespread.
I thank Deputy Smith. He is aware of Rethink Ireland, which is an organisation that funds various supports. Recently I visited the Solas Centre in Waterford. One of the programmes it runs is to provide information and supports for teachers in schools with a child in the class who has lost a parent to cancer or where a child has died of cancer. We have found this to be very effective. The Children's Grief Centre in Limerick is a very important initiative. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, works very closely with it and I believe she will have a positive announcement for it very soon with regard to capital funding. Pieta House also provides this type of support. I know the point Deputy Smith is making with regard to specific supports.
In one of the other areas, the counselling in primary care, CIPC, service supports are there but it is only if people have a medical card.
Upskilling teachers in terms of being aware when children are bereaved is important but is still not the primary function of a teacher's job, and probably will not provide what the child needs in terms of bereavement and counselling support. There might be a need at some point for the Government to review our policy and strategy on this.
With regard to Covid, I am still contacted by people who lost loved ones during the height of the crisis, when there was separation and they could not say goodbye, and there were incredible situations in nursing homes, in hospitals and at funerals, which we all remember. There are still people living with that. Within the HSE national counselling strategy, if there was some element or focus on those who lost someone during Covid, that would be a great help.
I do not disagree with the Deputy. With regard to the level 4 specialist trauma informed bereavement counselling, the NCS provides trauma informed bereavement counselling for more complex cases in some CHO areas, so we have that in CHOs 1, 8 and 9, although not in the other six areas. This service is available to both medical card and non-medical card holders, which is very important, and clients can self-refer or be referred by a GP or health professional.
I agree with the Deputy on this. Since I started back visiting day care centres, I see the number of older people who were bereaved during Covid who did not get that opportunity to go to the funeral. We all remember that maybe only 20 were allowed to go to a funeral initially. For those who were bereaved and who specifically were not able to say goodbye, and who stood at a window outside and watched their loved one dying, that is very difficult.
There is a myriad of supports there. The Deputy has got me thinking today that it might be no harm to do more information profiling and get it out to the public that these supports are in place.