Elderly careThe Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin, has officially launched the Clare Mental Health Service for Older People at St Joseph's Hospital, Ennis, Co Clare.
Mr Martin also presented the mental health service with an International Standards Organisation Quality Mark (ISO 9001/2000).
The unit is the first and only community mental health team in the country to receive the ISO Quality Mark, an award that is only given following an independent audit of the service including close scrutiny of all its policies, procedures and quality assurance methods.
The Clare Mental Health Service for Older People is a comprehensive clinical service provided by a specialist team working specifically with people aged 65 years and over.
The team is led by Dr Tom Reynolds, consultant psychiatrist and specialist in mental healthcare for older people.
The team also includes a trainee psychiatrist, two clinical nurse specialists, a senior occupational therapist, a senior social worker and an administrative assistant/secretary.
Dr Reynolds said: "We see people with a whole range of problems, from depression and anxiety to what are considered more severe mental health problems such as psychotic disorders and different forms of dementia, of which Alzheimer's disease is the most common.
"Following an initial assessment we would usually discuss therapy options with the older person and their family or carers if appropriate.
"Obviously, confidentiality and discretion are a very important integral part of our service," he said.
"Home assessment by any one of the team members is also a very important factor in helping us to eliminate any waiting list.
"The service has a 10-day turn-around time from referral to first assessment, and is the only viable way of providing this sort of comprehensive service to people across the length and breadth of the county within the constraints of a finite resource allocation," he said.