Mental health unit to move premises
Mental health services at Lincara in Bray will be moved to the new primary care facility on Killarney Road, when it is complete.
The new centre is expected to be open in 2019.
Cllr Oliver O’Brien asked his colleague Cllr Gerry O’Neill to raise the Lincara centre at a Regional Health Forum meeting in Tullamore last week.
Cllr O’Neill asked ‘if the HSE could clarify the future of Lincara Centre, Boghall Raod, Bray, concerning rumours of cutbacks to the centre and a reduction to the amount of hours presently provided for patients using this facility’.
The centre is the the base for the Bray Community Mental Health Team. Services there include an outpatient department and day care.
‘Once the planning approved Primary Care Centre in Bray is built, mental health service will co-locate with primary care services in line with national policy,’ read a written response to the question.
‘ This model has proven very successful in the case of Wicklow Primary Healthcare Centre, where mental health services are co-located with primary care, GPs, social care services etc.
‘ The priority for mental health services is to provide an appropriate mental health service in line with Vision for Change and the Recovery Model.
‘Where other services in the local community are identified as having the poten- tial to provide additional support to our service users in terms of their physical or social well being, this matter is addressed with each individual user and their families as appropriate.’
The written response also said that there is a service user engagement forum in development for Wicklow. ‘ The forum provides a space for people to voice their experiences, present their views and contribute if they have an opinion or experience of the mental health services in the area.’ area
Each forum will be involved in the planning, design, delivery and evaluation of HSE mental health services in their local area.
The next meeting in Wicklow will take place on Thursday, September 28, at the Wicklow Primary Healthcare Centre, Knockrobin, Wicklow Town. Adults who use mental health services in Wicklow or their family members or supporters are welcome to attend.