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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 15 Nov 1989

Vol. 393 No. 2

Written Answers. - Psychiatric Services.

30.

asked the Minister for Health if he will desist from closing any psychiatric hospitals; and if he will instruct all health boards to defer any further ward closures pending the introduction of a comprehensive psychiatric community service, which will be capable of dealing with psychiatric problems in the community.

Psychiatric services are being developed in this country in accordance with the policy set out in the report Planning for the Future. The policy outlined in this report involves a major change from a centralised hospital service to a service based in the community. The aim of this policy is to improve the quality of care in the psychiatric services and to enable as many people as possible receive treatment in their local community without the necessity for hospital admission. The policy of changing our psychiatric service from an institutional to a community based service has been accepted by successive Governments as being the best way of improving services for the mentally ill.

All of the health boards have drawn up plans for the implementation of the recommendation of Planning for the Future and considerable progress is being made in the provision of a range of facilities which are located in community settings. With the development of community based psychiatric services and advances in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, there is now less reliance on the institutional approach to the delivery of care.

The changes which are taking place in the psychiatric service are reflected in the continuing reduction in the number of in-patients in psychiatric hospitals. Patients who had been cared for in hospital for many years have been given the skills required to enable them to live in the community. However, I would like to assure the Deputy that it is my policy to ensure that where psychiatric services are being reorganised, a comprehensive community orientated service is put in place.

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