This month, the Department of Health and Children published the Fourth Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Group on the implementation of A Vision for Change, Ireland’s blueprint for mental health policy, published in 2006. The report was prepared by the Second Monitoring Group to be established under Vision for Change – which was appointed in early 2009, and similar to previous annual reports, is highly critical of the lack of progress in implementing the goals of A Vision for Change made to date.

Traditionally, mental health was a neglected area of legislation, policy and service provision in Ireland – particularly in terms of developing appropriate mechanisms to respect and protect the rights of mental health service users. The purpose of A Vision for Change was to rectify this by setting out a new framework for mental health service delivery in Ireland– one based on community care (rather than institutionalisation) and person-centred treatment, following the recovery model and a holistic approach to mental illness. One of the main recommendations of the original Vision for Change report was the establishment of multi-disciplinary community mental health teams to serve defined populations and age groups throughout re-configured mental health catchments areas. In order to implement this new structure for service delivery, the report also recommended the establishment of a National Mental Health Services Directorate, to work closely with the HSE on the roll-out of A Vision for Change.

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