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Irish Psychiatric Association survey of psychiatric services in Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Clifford Haley*
Affiliation:
Letterkenny General Hospital, Co. Donegal
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Abstract

Type
Columns
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 2005. The Royal College of Psychiatrists.

The article by O’Keane et al (Psychiatric Bulletin, October 2004, 28, 364-367) provides a valuable insight into the deficiencies present in mental health in the Eastern Regional Health Authority (EHRA) in Ireland. Unfortunately the data presented do not represent ‘a national survey’. The consultant sample is only 8.2% of the 281 consultant psychiatrists employed in Ireland (Reference WalshWalsh, 2004) and hence the results of this survey are limited to only the EHRA respondees. The wide variation in the socio-economic and demographic profiles in different regions in Ireland noted by the authors and elsewhere (Central Statistics Office, 2003) alongside the variation in the management style, and political function of the various health boards, and differences in regional infrastructure also make the EHRA results non-generalisable to Ireland as a whole without further data.

The paper is a good start at examining the inequities of Irish mental healthcare but data including regions very different from Dublin and the East coast are essential in such a survey.

References

Central Statistics Office (2003) Measuring Ireland's Progress. Volume 1, 2003; Indicators Report. Dublin: Stationery Office (Government of Ireland).Google Scholar
Walsh, D. (2004) Report of the Inspector of Mental Hospitals for 2003. Dublin: Stationery Office (Government of Ireland).Google Scholar
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