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A warm welcome to all of our supporters, old and new. Here's a brief roundup of our news:
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Mental Health Reform in the press
On 10th January, we had a letter to the editor published in The Irish Times on the issue of delays in staffing of community mental health teams: "What does it say about Ireland’s commitment to providing good-quality mental healthcare that, almost 30 years after it became government policy to provide multidisciplinary community mental health services, we are hearing that one team has been waiting 10 years for a psychologist and occupational therapist to be allocated?" Read the full letter here.
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We want to hear from you ...
As part of our ongoing process of consultation, Mental Health Reform will hold a number of public meetings in April and May 2013, to hear from people about their experience of the mental health services and to discuss the recovery model in mental health.
Exact dates and times are to be confirmed, but contact Lara Kelly, lkelly@mentalhealthreform.ie, if you'd like more information. We'll advertise the exact details closer to the time. In the meantime, we 'd be happy to hear from local mental health groups in the following areas, if they are interested in participating in these meetings:
Dublin 8 - mid April
Wexford town - late April
Castlebar - mid May
North Co. Dublin - late May
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Mental Health Reform Runners
The Mental Health Reform team and volunteers will be walking, jogging and running the Flora Women's Mini Marathon on 3rd June to raise funds to support the work of the organisation. If you'd like to join in, remember that online registration opens on the official website on Wednesday 20th February and places fill quickly. We now have a Mental Health Reform page on the My Charity website where you can set up a fundraising page for online donations. We will also soon have a fundraising toolkit to help you. Contact MHR's Lara Kelly on lkelly@mentalhealthreform.ie or (01) 6121422 for more information.
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Broad welcome for HSE 2013 Plan
The HSE's National Service Plan spells out how the Budget 2013 commitment to investing an additional €35million for the development of mental health services in 2013 will be spent. 477 new staff are to be appointed using the €35million promised for 2013. The Service Plan also commits to completing the appointment of the 414 staff committed in Budget 2012, which has been inexcusably delayed to date.
Mental Health Reform gave the Plan a broad welcome, but we have concerns that the phrase "subject to affordability" is being used as a get-out clause for mental health funding. Check out our official response to the Service Plan, as well as our one-page analysis of the Plan as it relates to mental health.
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