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Some HSE mental health centres face being de-registered unless they improve compliance

‘We can now undeniably say that there are four key areas where standards are simply unacceptable,’ said the MHC chief executive.

THE MENTAL HEALTH Commission has warned that HSE mental health centres must improve compliance in four key areas or they face being de-registered as approved centres.

The warning follows the publication of the MHC’s 2022 annual report.

The four key areas where improvement is needed by some providers is risk management, individual care planning, staffing, and premises.

“We can now undeniably say that there are four key areas where standards are simply unacceptable, as they were in 2021 and in many years prior to that,” said MHC chief executive John Farrelly.

Compliance rates in these four regulations fell below 70%.

Risk management refers to the centre’s ability to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
60.6% of mental health centres were compliant with this regulation.

When it came to individual care planning, 69.7% of centres were deemed to be compliant.

Chief Executive of the Mental Health Commission John Farrelly described the individual care plan as “the blueprint for the resident’s care, treatment and eventual recovery”.

He said that while there is “clear clinical leadership” in some centres, in others “the basic concept of care planning does not seem to have been understood or appreciated”.

In such centre, he said “goals are vague and meaningless and obviously not developed with residents”.

Only 31.8% of centres were compliant as regards staffing.

The annual report noted that while funding for staffing “has improved over the past few years, community teams are chronically short-staffed through lack of funding and difficulty in recruiting staff”.

The report added that “retention of staff in under-resourced teams is also a problem” and that the HSE’s “recruitment from abroad and use of remote telepsychiatry to try to alleviate difficulty in staffing teams is not enough”.

“It is not sufficient to say that ‘we can’t get staff’ without looking at different ways of making posts attractive and competitive with other jurisdictions,” added the report.

The lowest levels of compliance were found regarding premises, with just 27.3% of centres being compliant.

The report noted that compliance with this regulation has been low over the past five years, “most particularly in a number of HSE premises”, at an average of 35.1%.

It also found that maintenance of the premises of acute inpatient approved centres varied greatly.

While the Adult Mental Health Unit in Sligo has “plenty of space”, other units are described as “not fit for purpose”.

Others still are said to be in need of “extensive refurbishment”.

The report noted that “for most people residing in these premises, this is their home”.

However, it added: “This is not a criticism of the staff who work hard on the ground to provide age-appropriate care and therapeutic interventions and who try and make the approved centre as homely and welcoming as possible”.

MHC chief executive John Farrelly said: “Many of our premises are simply not fit-for-purpose for a modern mental health service and this is something that we have been saying for many years and will continue to do until things change.

“To be clear, a targeted, funded strategic capital investment programme is urgently required now in our public system.”

The MHC has written to the HSE seeking an updated action plan to address the significant issues raised in its annual report, particularly around premises, individual care plans, staffing and risk management practices.

Farrelly added: “We would expect that the HSE concentrate first on the centres that have low standards in care planning and premises.

“The overriding message from today’s report is that centres who have performed poorly in these areas need to comply with these regulations or face the real prospect of not being re-registered.

“Being compliant with these and other regulations – which, lest we forget, are the minimum standards – is the very least that people living in the areas served by these centres deserve.”

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14 Comments
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    Mute helixjo1
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    Sep 1st 2015, 5:02 PM

    Lived in Vancouver for a year. Everyone told me that Chinese millionaires were buying up the property market.

    Sounded like bubble, looked like a bubble, no one believed it was a bubble.

    288
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    Mute VoiceOfVanguard
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    Sep 1st 2015, 6:43 PM

    ..but hang on, we’re told the more immigration the better for the economy.

    yet countries who want a points-based immigration system – like Canada – are racist. like Ukip.

    where now for the neo-liberals?

    53
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    Mute Niall Donnelly
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    Sep 1st 2015, 4:46 PM

    Welcome to the club!!!! Australia has also just joined.

    231
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    Mute little jim
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    Sep 1st 2015, 5:12 PM

    Wait a minute, where else have we been slipping off to.

    64
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    Mute Darren Norris
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    Sep 1st 2015, 5:28 PM

    Australia is not in recession.

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    Mute Niall Donnelly
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    Sep 1st 2015, 5:32 PM
    52
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    Mute Darren Norris
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    Sep 1st 2015, 5:34 PM

    That is a comment piece asking is it sliding into recession…it is still growing, just very slowly but still faster than most of Europe.

    http://www.businessinsider.com.au/most-forecasters-are-now-betting-australian-gdp-grew-0-5-last-quarter-2015-9

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    Mute Cian O Donoghue
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    Sep 1st 2015, 7:16 PM

    The clue is in the title Niall. It’s asking is Oz in recession. It’s an opinion piece.

    34
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    Mute Emmet
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    Sep 1st 2015, 11:06 PM

    Australia is slowing down a bit but deffinately not in recession

    17
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    Mute Tweed Cap
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    Sep 1st 2015, 4:51 PM

    The whole world will be growing their own spuds soon lads

    182
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    Mute Íurach
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    Sep 1st 2015, 9:04 PM

    That’s not even a joke, I’d urge people to buy food in advance. Things are going to be worse than 2008.

    14
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    Mute Christopher Byrne
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    Sep 1st 2015, 4:54 PM

    You have the trifecta with Oil, Iron ore prices in the shit and China on the skids here in Aus. House prices have been bananas for the last 4 years. Just no value in buying here. Massive property bubble waiting to pop. Interesting times ahead

    99
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    Mute David G
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    Sep 1st 2015, 5:10 PM

    Not the mention the price of potash is falling badly. Canada is one of largest producers.

    59
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    Mute offtheball
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    Sep 1st 2015, 4:47 PM

    Let’s blame our Gov for that as well.

    89
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    Mute paul farrell
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    Sep 1st 2015, 5:15 PM

    Didn’t enda and co visit Canada recently , they left the recession disease behind them..

    77
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    Mute Spammer
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    Sep 1st 2015, 6:44 PM

    Both Canada and Australia are in trouble. China the main buyer of their commodities in heading for recession and will take them with it….

    53
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    Mute The Guru
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    Sep 1st 2015, 11:16 PM

    China is nowhere near recession! At the very worst it will be at 4% growth.

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    Mute The Guru
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    Sep 2nd 2015, 2:30 AM

    Red thumbs I see. People seriously need to educate themselves as to what a recession is. China is growing at 7% per annum down from 10%. Some say it’s more likely around 5%. Nobody is saying it’s in recession or is anywhere near it apart from commenters on the Journal who haven’t a clue.

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    Mute Dave Tett
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    Sep 1st 2015, 5:05 PM

    I work in the mortgage industry in Toronto. Canada has much better safeguards for lending then Ireland and U.S. Did in 2008. Property market is not gonna collapse anytime soon.

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    Mute James Comerford
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    Sep 1st 2015, 5:15 PM

    But surely you would say that, no ?

    90
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    Mute Dave Tett
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    Sep 1st 2015, 5:18 PM

    Haha fair point but inaccurate in this sense. It’s the U.S. Shorting Canadian lender shares which is why they are worrying

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    Mute Patrick J O'CONNOR
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    Sep 1st 2015, 6:29 PM

    @Dave Tett…. But is there not an Ontario Co.making bare-bones houses for about $24.000 now; and what will this do to the mortgage ind. and also to the housing mkt?
    I may be in the market for one such bare-boneser so any reliable info appreciated.

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    Mute Ronan McDermott
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    Sep 1st 2015, 6:54 PM

    It might in Calgary

    8
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    Mute Robert Tallent
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    Sep 1st 2015, 7:19 PM

    Houses in Calgary are vastly more affordable vs average incomes than they are in Toronto. The Calgary market isn’t nearly as bloated as Vancouver or Toronto.

    11
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    Mute Ronan McDermott
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    Sep 1st 2015, 8:47 PM

    Yes but Alberta has been propping things up for Canada. Not any more . If it falls here will have a domino effect. Plus wait till the ndp wins the next election. Spend spend spend. But your views are none of my concern. You guys are working in the mortgage industry. You know it all. Pfft

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    Mute Ronan McDermott
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    Sep 1st 2015, 5:56 PM

    Canada has been in recession since last November.

    40
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    Mute Caoimhghín Ó Tuama
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    Sep 1st 2015, 9:22 PM

    Lived in Toronto and Alberta for a couple of years. Outside of Alberta (struggling now because of Oil) Canada has been far from rosy for the last few years. The job market for grads in Ontario has been very rough, with many heading out to Alberta to get jobs. Distance wise, that’s about Poland to Ireland, so while it’s the same country it’s still economic migration. There’s even more migration again from the maritime provinces where employment prospects are fairly poor, and some of the poverty in indigenous areas is second world stuff.

    Great county and great cities, but don’t go over expecting Ireland 2006 or you’ll get a bad land.

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    Mute Tara
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    Sep 2nd 2015, 2:45 AM

    I’m going over in two weeks. Ireland has a big dark cloud over it in general, I’m sure I’ll be happier over there in recession than in this small town going absolutely nowhere. Slightly worried though!!

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    Mute Padraic Quinn
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    Sep 2nd 2015, 6:04 AM

    go to vancouver and you won’t have anything to worry about.

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    Mute Myself
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    Sep 2nd 2015, 5:05 AM

    Living here in Edmonton Alberta for 4 years now, there is a slow down but it will be nothing like it was back home in 2008, i work as an electrician and there is still plenty of work around the city, oil fields have slowed down but it just leaves employers in a better position to select the better quality worker. I do a lot of side work and I’ve never been busier. They talk about recession here but they know nothing about one, all it means is now you have a manageable amount of work.

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Sep 1st 2015, 6:44 PM

    21 / 22 September, see what that brings globally?

    8
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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Sep 1st 2015, 7:15 PM

    Some U.S. Bill is being purpose to build a wall on the boarder with Canada? Then others want on with Mexico, are they mad?

    4
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    Mute graham galvin
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    Sep 1st 2015, 7:23 PM

    That kind of goes against NAFTA does it not?

    9
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    Mute Keelan O'neill
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    Sep 1st 2015, 7:57 PM

    That’s an idea from Republican Scott Walker. He won’t get within a donkey’s roar of the White House.

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    Mute gary kelly
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    Sep 2nd 2015, 2:36 PM

    Lived in canada for few years.outside alberta economies aren’t all that good. Low wages high rent etc and not particularly nice looking cities in any way. There’s a very good reason why alberta pays well. Because of the 8 month winters and it’s an absolute hellhole. Was only matter of time before they slipped into recession. Alberta = oil and gas and nothing else

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    Mute Vaughn Bender
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    Sep 2nd 2015, 7:24 PM

    First of all Canada is NOT in a recession, sheesh! Please check the facts, here is link from Canadian bank the details of this so called “Resession” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/video/video-scotia-this-is-no-recession/article26175445/

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