Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome. I am very glad the Minister of State responsible for this area is here. It is crucial that we address head-on the issue that no one should feel helpless and alone in circumstances where they have a mental health crisis. I ask the Minister of State to outline the supports available to an individual going through the trauma and also to family members who are trying to support that individual during that time. We all know that people do not plan to get sick. They do not expect it. Most of the time it comes out of the blue. As the Minister of State knows, mental health crises are often the same way. It is necessary to provide the necessary support and guidance to those individuals and families during these challenging times. I ask that we focus on establishing a comprehensive support system that is accessible to all in all circumstances. Often individuals and families are not sure where to seek health during a crisis. When they do go to the accident and emergency department and ask for that help, they should be able to receive it and not have to fight for it. Hospitals need more support workers and more trained professionals in order to help patients arriving at the doors, to be able to signpost and answer questions and to talk a family through what is happening.

Two stories have been highlighted to me recently by people in the constituency in which I live. Both the stories involve patients at Beaumont Hospital. One person had to fight tooth and nail to save her dad and convince doctors and psychologists that he warranted entry to a safe environment in order to get better. She begged to be heard and understood. She and her father were sent home with a list of ways to manage anxiety. No medication or intervention was provided. They were told to go to the GP. It began a very difficult time at home and a fight to survive. The person in question had to stay with her dad because she was incredibly worried, and rightly so. They called for an ambulance within 24 hours. The Minister of State can imagine how afraid and vulnerable her dad was, as she was herself. A doctor told her that her father had wasted resources and that he did not warrant the ambulance. Imagine hearing that from a medical professional. Even if it was not life and death at that moment, who was he to judge and to make a person feel more vulnerable?

Another young father was sent away because he was not in the Beaumont Hospital catchment area. He was promised that the matter would be followed up in the correct area but this never happened. Unfortunately and tragically, this young man took his own life, leaving a family in despair and a young child without a father. That in turn becomes a whole family trauma and leads to mental health difficulties.

The man in question was told by the doctor that he was not experiencing mental health difficulties. However, the doctor also mentioned that he was seeing an average of 20 people a day with mental health issues. These figures are shocking. The doctor saying he had wasted resources is more troubling as he also admitted to the man that he had only ever admitted two patients with mental health issues in his time in the accident and emergency department in Beaumont Hospital. The Minister of State gives a lot of resources. She is the most proactive mental health Minister of State we have ever had and has provided the largest budgets. She is putting out these policies and resources and but when a person goes to hospital, they lack advocacy and feel they are turned away at every opportunity. I have a few more questions but I will ask them in the follow-up.