National umbrella organisation for mental health, Mental Health Reform, has welcomed the announcement of a Director for Mental Health as part of the new governance structures within the HSE.
The new Directorate structure shows clear identification of mental health as a definitive area of priority for this Government.
“Mental Health Reform has campaigned for a Directorate of Mental Health since its formation. We welcomed the initial commitment to establish such an accountable, transparent structure by Minister Lynch in July 2011 and have since worked tirelessly to see this implemented”, commented Orla Barry, Director Mental Health Reform.
“After the announcement of €35m for the development of community services in the recent Budget, this is the next step in implementing Government policy for Mental Health, A Vision for Change. We look forward to speedy passing of this legislation and a fast appointment of a Director for Mental Health to make up for the implementation deficit that exists in mental health to date”, concluded Orla Barry.
