Political Science

A set of guidelines that a government puts in place to address human welfare in terms of creating, maintaining and improving human living conditions. Since it is connected to the government, the policies involved are public and it is a social policy since it is connected to social issues. The Health Act of 2004 is what governs the public policy on healthcare system in Ireland. It was formed a body that was charged with ensuring that quality health services was delivered to all the inhabitants of Ireland. 1st of January was the date that this commission came to be officially recognized and it is still in the process of reforming the healthcare system. This paper is going to look at the current Irish social policy on health care, especially at the mental health policy. It will look at the aims of this policy and its values to the people of Ireland. The paper will also asses the situation of the policy in terms of what is happening and what opinion the stakeholders and key players have. Also to be mentioned is what is likely to happen in future in relation to this policy. The methods used in this policy will also be discussed in this paper, with the options that the government has, and the constraints that restrain the achievement of the goals in terms of the resources available. The effectiveness of the policy will also be mentioned, and the implementation of the policy. Finally, this paper will evaluate what effects the policy has had and if the policy has achieved its aims that it had set out to achieve. The opinions of those affected will also be mentioned and what they think of the policy (Green Party, 2009).

Some of the issues that the policy aims to achieve include ensuring the involvement service users and carers in this policy to help it be a success through service delivery and development. The promotion of mental health to all ages should be enhanced to ensure that the protective factors are increased and the risk factors that develop mental health problems should be reduced or eliminated as a whole. The presence of a well trained and staffed community mental health team to ensure that mental health services are provided across individuals lifespan is another aim. Another aim that this policy has set out to achieve is the provision of an effective community based program by the community mental health teams, the provision of a comprehensive outreach care and home based care of medical and psychological therapies that are relevant to the needs of the patients and their families. The policy is also supposed to ensure that all the mental hospitals are closed and the resources that are recovered from the closure of these hospitals be gathered and reverted into the mental health service. The prioritization of the service is also another aim of this policy by ensuring it is developed especially where there is special need for it to be developed. The closure of the mental hospitals is not a good idea, considering that they provide specialized care to these patients and also due to the fact that the closure of these hospitals will ultimately mean that the government will have to look for further funding or resources to open up new facilities for the care of these patients. The success of this policy will be measured by the effectiveness that it will have in the implementation of the nitty gritty aspects of the policy for example the full integration of the community based team into the profession through education and training (The Expert Group on Mental Health Policy, 2008).

At the moment, the issue of mental health is included in the curriculum in schools to ensure that social exclusion is eliminated. Social exclusion is due to the stigma that is associated with mental illness. Mental health services have been liaising with schools in relation to this through programs such as Youth Reach programmes. Such programs are meant to sensitize the youth on the importance of caring for the mentally challenged and refraining from discriminating them, based on their status. Such programmes also teach the youth on how to handle and take care of such individuals. Poverty has also been linked to poor mental health and several measures have been taken to tackle this ever rising problem. One of the ways the government is trying to tackle the poverty issue is by providing employment (Green Party, 2009). This is through the implementation of several employment models that have so far increased the level of competitive employment. Another method the government is using to mitigate the effects of unemployment on mental health is by the provision of housing. The local authority, according to the Housing Act, is supposed to provide housing to the people who need it in a particular area. There has been evidence that mental health services have been working together with the local authorities to ensure that service users are able to access housing that is suitable for their needs. It is also important to note that currently, most people with mental health problems are attended to on an outpatient basis, meaning that only a small percentage of them are actually attending in-patient facilities. The voluntary groups and non governmental organisations are keen on the policys success and are ready to aid in the development of this policy (Green Party, 2009). This can be seen by the commitment that they have in training workshops that they host. For example the Mercy University Hospital Foundation and the Royal Dublin Society have been on the forefront in ensuring that seminars are held to train carers and other family members of the affected individuals. The future of mental health policy looks bright with the inclusion of the private sector into the social issue, since the community is also willing to assist in addressing the issue. This type of commitment will ensure that the necessary actions needed to be taken will be successful with support from all citizens (Government of Ireland, 2008).

The methods that the government projects to use are the inclusion of family health care and carers involvement in the support of these individuals. This is a good option to take, considering that most of these mentally challenged individuals have families that actually do care for them. The involvement of the community is also another option that is available for the implementation of this policy, and the support of the community would go a long way to ensure that these individuals are not segregated from the community to facilities away from their families and friends. Education and training can help in changing the perspectives that people within the society have of the mentally retarded and in the long run it will assist in the implementation of the policy (The Expert Group on Mental Health Policy, 2008).

Also through education, the masses will get to learn about the policy and how it is beneficial to the society as a whole. Educating the community also helps to let them understand what needs to be done to assists with the situation that the country is facing. The constraint that is currently available is the lack of specialisms (Government of Ireland, 2008). This is the development of the necessary range of specialists in mental health on a national level. In some instances, there is a lack of resources and insufficient health care teams members who are specialized in certain areas. The currently available resources are not sufficient that they are able to sustain the initial stages of implementation for the policy. Such resources include medical equipment that the mentally retarded use, presence of interpreters and medication. If nothing is done to address the issue of resource allocation, the policy might flop due to the lack of corporation from the parties involved. The private sector wouldnt want to get involved if it would mean that they will have to provide a large percentage of the resources needed for this policy to succeed.

From the year 1984, Ireland has been investing in the mental health sector, though the contribution has been less as compared to the funds that the finance ministry has been allocating to the mental health expenditure currently. Initially, only 184 million pounds were allocated to the mental health expenditure, but at the moment it has risen to over 800 million pounds, a very significant improvement from the initial investment (Government of Ireland, 2008). The benefits that this policy has seen include the improvement of the general health of the society as a whole and its citizens, not only in the mental health department but more so in the general health. There has also been increase in employment opportunities with the creation of new facilities to accommodate the patients. Housing improvements has also ensured that there is adequate housing for the citizens thanks to the housing act (Kelly, B., 2008). The methods that are being used in the implementation of this policy are so far cost effective, considering that the old mental hospitals are being done away with and new facilities which are much more professional are being set up. The costs can further be reduced by ensuring that the non governmental organisations are involved in the campaign for this policy, since they are capable of providing training to carers and family members of these patients, and this in the long run will reduce the costs that the government will have to incur. In this way, the benefits will be two fold and both the government and the non governmental organisations will get to benefit, from the profits and revenue that this policy will bring through training fees and client fees (The Expert Group on Mental Health Policy, 2008).

The manner in which the policy is being implemented is appropriate to it since the government has incorporated different elements into the policy development process. Some of the elements that the government has included are the removal of mental hospitals which is aimed at reducing the stigma associated with this condition. Also the inclusion of education into the curriculum to ensure that stigma is eliminated from the children at an early age is an appropriate way of ensuring that the policy is implemented from the grass roots. The processes that the government is using to ensure that the issue of mental illness is addressed are applicable in this field considering that such individuals need constant care from carers and family members. The process of implementation has related to other sectors such as the local authorities and the housing sector. At the moment there are only five rehabilitations teams within Ireland, and none of the five has the number of staff required to cater for the needs of the community. The service provision that is currently in use doesnt cover the needs of the patients in the sense of social and clinical recovery due to the lack of professionalism in the policy implementation. The current policy also causes the immediate family members of the patients to carry the biggest burden especially in the case of those patients with severe cases (Kelly, B., 2008). The current training programs that the government is providing vocationally, is not sufficient enough for the service users to move into the mainstream of the profession.  A serious lack of adequate housing for the service users is hindering their efforts to move into the different stages of recovery and toward ensuring the goal of them being included into the independent community. The mental health system also lacks peer support and advocacy to enable them achieve their goals (The Expert Group on Mental Health Policy, 2008).

The policy has so far ensured that care is given to the mentally challenged by their family members through the provision of carers thanks to the vocational training that the government and other non governmental organisations have been providing. The policy has also ensured that these mentally challenged individuals get accommodation facilities, apart from the mental hospitals, and this has helped those who are recovering to recover fully and be integrated into the society as useful members (Kelly, B., 2008). The family members to the mentally challenged are very optimistic that the policy changes that are being implemented will go a long way in helping them be able to cope with the situation that they are in. the members of the community residing in Ireland also think that this policy would help in reducing the cases of mentally challenged individuals roaming the neighbourhoods and in the long run reduce the crime rate. The policy has achieved its aims to an extent but full attainment of the goals is possible only if the government increases its commitment to the policy itself. The reason as to why it has achieved its aims partially, is due to the fact that the policy changes have seen a marked increase in the awareness of the condition, and the community is focused on supporting the government on areas that it can, for example in the leasing of land for the construction of these facilities. Also important to note is the inclusion of education and training into elementary schools has helped to create awareness in children at an early age, and to help them understand that this is an issue and it can be solved through cooperation (Kelly, B., 2008).

The implementation of this policy by Ireland should be seen as an example by other countries, not only in the issue of mental health, but also in other pressing social issue. For example, developing countries could take up this policy model to apply in the case of HIVAIDS, as this policy has been proven to be effective. It could assist in the reduction of stigma related to the disease and also aid in the development of support programs for the infected and affected. This policy could also be used by such countries to tackle social issue that are not necessarily related to health care and this is all to the advantage of the society in which the issues are. After all, a happy society normally translates to a happy government.