Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 February 2018
95. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Health the details of the recent announcement to set up a national telephone and text help-line to access mental health services across the country; when he expects this help-line to be operational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6105/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraOne of the first things I set about doing when I was appointed Minister with responsibility for mental health was to establish a single point of contact for mental health services by telephone and text nationally. I was happy to receive the support of the HSE to establish this service. I do acknowledge that there are challenges in progressing this work. There are many very valuable service providers in the mental health sphere, however, I feel accessing these services can be simplified by having one access point nationally. The proposed help-line will be a single point of access to services that will seamlessly transfer a service user to a relevant service provider based on an initial assessment of need by a suitably qualified person and the service users proximity to a service provider.
HSE Mental Health Services have established a project to examine and progress a national telephone, text help-line and digital information/supports for those seeking support and services in respect of their mental health. The proposed service will focus on preventing mental health problems from developing and escalating, and on promoting good mental health through empowering people to self-manage their mental well-being. There is strong evidence that those seeking information/support are moving away from seeking help-line support and towards digital technologies. Accordingly the project will also have a focus on Digital solutions involving the use of information and communication technologies, as these are critically important in providing information, support and directing people to services where required.
These solutions can be used independently by an individual or suggested or signposted by a professional, and can be an integral part of mental health care and support. The benefits of using such solutions include; improved accessibility, consistency, quality and range of service offerings, real-time customisation of service, reduction in service provision costs, facilitation of service user empowerment, and potential to remove barriers to access including attitudinal, financial, temporal and those associated with stigma.
The Project Group to progress this work has been established, and a Project Manager appointed. Meetings have been held with key stakeholders including those currently offering telephone help-line supports in the field of mental health. A significant body of work will be associated with the integration of the existing specialist helplines into a single help-line number. The Project Lead for the telephony strand of the project is also responsible for the HSE Live service and a consultation process is in place to seek the views of existing providers on how they could be integrated into a single help-line number. It would be premature to posit a date of launch of a national help-line pending completion of these consultations/negotiations.
