Following publication of the NWCI’s ‘Out of Silence’ report into women’s mental health, Labour Party Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has said we must use the Scally Report approach as a template to improve mental health services for women.
Deputy Kelly said:
“This stark report published by NWCI shows us that Ireland now has the highest suicide rate among girls in the EU and that women are twice as likely to experience depression and anxiety as men.
“We know that social and economic reasons are factors that impact women’s mental health outcomes such as housing, working conditions, the lack of affordable childcare, the distribution of care duties, and simply income poverty.
“We know that there are huge deficits in our mental health services especially when women first present themselves with an issue. Many women are just being prescribed anti-depressants with little or no follow up. This is not good enough. We can’t just provide medication without additional holistic services and hope these mental health issues will just go away.
“If we learned anything from the Scally Report; when it comes to mental health we need to have a patient-led, women-focused approach. It is no different when it comes to mental health services. The State can and must do better.”