Sir, – Earlier this week the Government launched the next implementation phase of Sharing the Vision, its progressive mental health policy, but one critical element remains largely overlooked – the role of home support in delivering mental health care.
Much of the conversation rightly centres on community-based, recovery-oriented models. Yet, despite policy commitments to keep people out of institutional settings and support them in their communities, the infrastructure to provide mental health-specific care and support in the home remains underdeveloped and underfunded.
For many people with enduring mental health challenges, the ability to remain in their own home – with personalised, practical, and emotional support – is fundamental to recovery. Home support workers, trained to understand mental health, can reduce hospital admissions, provide early intervention, and enable individuals to live with dignity and independence.
The Enhanced Community Care Programme, home-based crisis teams, and the shift toward integrated care offer the ideal opportunity to embed mental health support into homecare provision. But this will only happen if home support is recognised not just as a social care solution, but as a vital part of the mental health system.
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If we are serious about parity between mental and physical health, and if we want a system that responds to people’s needs in real places and real time, then we must resource and regulate mental health support at home. Home support workers need to be seen as a member of the mental health care team. Without this, we risk building a system that speaks the language of community care – but doesn’t deliver it where it matters most. Yours, etc,
DR KATHLEEN McLOUGHLIN,
Roscrea,
Co Tipperary.
