Limerick East): Health boards are responsible for the delivery of health services, including mental health services and services to persons with a mental handicap in their functional areas.
It is the policy of my Departmental to provide, where appropriate, residential services for persons with mental illness and those with a mental handicap in community based facilities. Health boards are developing comprehensive community based services for these two groups in line with the recommendations of the report on the development of the psychiatric services, Planning for the Future, and the report of the Review Group on Mental Handicap Services, Needs and Abilities.
A key objective of psychiatric service development policy modelled on the recommendations of Planning for the Future is the provision of appropriate psychiatric service facilities to persons with a mental illness who require varying degrees of support, care and treatment. These varying needs can be met in many instances through the provision of care to patients in community residential facilities in place of in-patient care in psychiatric hospitals. Progress towards more appropriate provision of services from in-patient to community based care is reflected in the accelerated development of community residences since 1984 when Planning for the Future was published. In 1994 there were 121 community residences providing a total of just over 900 places compared to 377 community residences providing a total of 2,666 places in 1995.