The HSE has published its National Service Plan for 2014. The plan spells out how the €20 million investment in mental health services will be spent and what other initiatives the HSE will engage in during the year.
Mental Health Reform has expressed frustration that the €20 million investment will be delayed to the latter half of 2014. At the end of September 2013, staffing was still down almost a thousand from the high of March 2009 and had increased by just 156 during 2013.
On the positive side, the Mental Health Directorate plans to address access to psychological therapies in 2014. There is a commitment to produce an implementation plan that will cover the remaining period of A Vision for Change and to develop an over-arching model of care focussed on the recovery ethos.
