Text and emails, Tuesday 26 January 2010
Topic: Mental health in Ireland
Panellists: Minister of State with responsibility for mental health John Moloney, psychiatrist Siobhán Barry, Irish Times chief correspondent Carl O'Brien
What amazes me is the fact people believe the government promises or lies whichever way you look at it. When are people going to wake up and hold the gov accountable?
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Trying to expose dire mental health services for 25 years as a vol. Worker. Sadly they shoot the messenger.
Anne Ryan, Kilkenny
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Why do you put up with this waffler. Process, what process?
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Please no fluff...straight talk. The psych ill cannot often speak up.
Phil, Sligo
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You had the same discussion some months ago with minister baloney and you could back in ten years and it would be the very same.
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Progress made in recent years is all unraveling because all managers have retired or opted out because of cut backs and are not being replaced.
Tony Lambe, psychiatrist nurse, Monaghan
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Can you ask minister to commit to more psychologists and counsellors . Many psychiatric patients victims of abuses.
Shane, Limerick
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Why do they push antipsychotics regardless of serious life shortening side effects?
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Please get that minister off. I'm depressed enough already.
Anne Clune
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Change for.. vision.. Vision for change. When? Another 50 years time. God. Poor people, locked away in mental hospitals, forgotten by all. Criminal.
Anne
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The policy in Vision for Change has made things worse. People who were in care now make up most of the people who present as homeless. They have mental and physical problems and the HSE leave it to housing authorities to house them when they cannot live without support.
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Forty years mental health not changed. Enough said.
Louis
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Here we go again...another useless FF mouthpiece defending the indefensible.
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Mental health is the poor relation of the Health Service. We are hearing the same thing over and over again. And nothing being done.
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My son is waiting in Navan over two years to get to Dundrum for treament he needs.
Jacinta, Drogheda
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Is the minister saying the hospitals that have being tackled were worse than in Mullingar?
Kiljoy, Drogheda
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What about the 25 million promised years ago and diverted to other areas of health?
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Why are mentally ill children being nursed in acute adult wards?
Psychiatric nurse
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Today 1200 special needs assistants were threatened with job losses. these often assist kids with all sorts of conditions including mental health concerns. Even psychological and psychiatric services are very limited to schools. People with mental health concerns are forgotten from the earliest ages.
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How much longer as a nation of people are we going to listen to this dribble from these fools, liars and crooks while they line their pockets and the public suffer? Hang them high and start again.
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Portrane was appalling in 2001. What is that man talking about things cant happen over night if he had a relative there he would not be happy with the dreadful conditions.
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Purchase excess hotels around country and use as mental health facilities.
Joe
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John is right about implementing monies to Letterkenny primary care but the monies are being put into brand new spanking premises for mental health staff, not the patients or care of patients who are decaying in an old run down hospital in letterkenny or an under staffed psychiatric unit. Primary care centres provide shiny new premises for those making decisions and administering them but little else. Can the patients see the monies redirected to them please...
Jacqui, Letterkenny
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Due to lack of funding, community services are virtually nonexistant in cork thus increasing revolving door re-admissions and causing waiting lists for acute admissions.
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Like the panel to bring up the issue of discrimination in irish society towards mentaly ill people. I resigned from a job last year because the company did everything to make me leave after they discovered i had a mental health issue.
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Will you ask minister to deploy more resources towards preventing suicide given large increase?
Shane, www.campaignagainstsuicide.com
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Ask him why they didnt fix the hospitals when we were awash with money!
Bernie, Limerick
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Another defensive Fianna Failer, did the minister go to the same school as Willie O'Dea? If Fianna Fail don't go asap emigration my only option.
Mary, Tipp
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We are all treated as if we are suffering from dementia by these cowboy politicians.
Joe Doherty, Donegal
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Tell the minister if I hold his paypacket for this year and promise to give it to him next year will he have a problem with that.
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Don't you understand ? The Govt. is like Fr. Ted; the € 43 million is ' resting ' in their account.
Tony Nolan, Rush
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The 43 million dollar man is not making any sense and i am not convinced by his arguments!
Philip, Carlow
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How are all the mental patients being looked after now with nowhere to reside? Are they a threat to society? Why did we need asylums at all if the institutions can all be closed down?
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Can you ask the minister is the budget now €86 million, or is this another smoke screening of the truth by FF?
Mel Devlin, Lucan
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If you thought the Minister was the best last year, God help our country.
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Mental health care in Ireland is a joke our prisons are full of people with mental health problems without full time care. This ìs where this governments vision ìs gone
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You let that minister away with murder. Are 'appalling conditons' acceptable for your mentally ill father/sister? Disgusted.
T. O D., Meath
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Can you ask the minister wouldn't the 8 million euro spent on members of government expenses would go a long way to respect patients dignity with basic and appropriate accomodation?
Grace
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Can you ask minister to consider changing archaic institutional names in a simple step to reduce stigma ie. Unit 5b in limerick.
Shane
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Not only are psychiatric services in hospitals unacceptable, the HSE seem intent on destroying the ease of access to vital medication through community pharmacies by cutting and/or stopping payments for these services. Pharmacy can have a very important role in making patients lives easier but typically the HSE lack the vision to fully utilise this service!
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11 years on the money from the sale of St. Loman's still has not materialised. Promises, promises, promises.
David, Dublin
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As a regular visitor to an elderly man in Unit 1 in St. Ita's, I cannot find fault with the care he is receiving. He is always well dressed, warm, well fed and happy in himself. Unit 1 is always clean and fresh.
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Funding for mental is now only 6% of total health spend down from 13% 25 years ago. While this remains the case Vision for Change has no chance of being realised.
Kieran (bipolar service user), Tralee.
My brother was signed in to St. Ita's in 2001 and despite several calls to the hospital from his family, begging them to help him - and the hospital acknowledging he had serious mental health issues - he was allowed sign himself out only to commit suicide the following day.
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Let's get real here. Psychiatric services are the butt of public services. Compare private care (eg John of Gods) with public care (eg St. Itas). No votes here!
Ian, Dundrum
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For God's sake does John really think that the public believe that the first 43 mill was used appropriately. I get so tired of these people mumbling nonsense.
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Ministers and TD's are overpaid salaries should be halved them we would see how patriotic they are!
Colm Keenan
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I was disguised at Vincent. I was disguised with Gerry Ryans comments on 2FM this morning in relation to the on going peace talks by the English and Irish governments and how they should have better things to do in the current economic environment.
Mel Devlin, Lucan
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Min. Moloney represents a cliche - the blustering, bumbling gombeen with not a bull's notion of his brief.
Noreen
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Same old storey, vision for change. Planning for the future. 43 million, no progress.
Malachy Feeney, Monaghan.
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The mentally ill are marginalised job wise. Some of the public laugh at us and think we are stupid, also why dont these people let service users comment. The drug companies are witholding better drugs that they know of because it's worth too much money to them. We have to live on buttons while the fat cats in the drug companies make a fortune. The doctors are on huge money also. The whole thing is a business although alot of the doctors are great. There are no decent job supports to help us get employment.
Richard, a service user
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Please Vincent do NOT upset one of our 'POOR' junior ministers by asking him about MONEY and how they allocate and spend. How dare you be so upfront.
Phil