Sir, – The report by the inspector of mental health Dr Susan Finnerty makes for grim reading.
It is not acceptable that mentally-ill people who commit crimes remain in prison because of the lack of appropriate mental health services.
But the inspector fails to examine why our mentally ill with a dual diagnosis of substance misuse end up in prison in the first place, especially those so called “revolving door patients” who can be treated effectively within our acute psychiatric units, but are often discharged with minimal follow up, to homeless services, and then disengage with services, only to relapse and become a risk to themselves and the public.
Some responsibility surely lies with our mental health policy, A Vision for Change. While well-intentioned, it led to the closure rather than the improvement of all our public psychiatric hospitals, in the hope that vulnerable patients could be supported within the community.
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The reluctance of the Mental Health Act Expert Review Group to consider community treatment orders, limits mental health professionals’ ability to ensure the most vulnerable patients who lack insight, receive the treatment and the support they need. – Yours, etc,
FRANK BROWNE,
Templeogue,
Dublin 16.