SDLP Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan
The scheme is in line with the wider Mental Health Action Plan and is due to be implemented in November 2021.
Said the Foyle MLA: “I welcome the Health Minister’s announcement on the establishment of a Regional Mental Health Crisis Service which will be integral in reducing the overall pressures on both mental health services and the wider health system.
“The transformation of crisis services is something which I have fiercely advocated for.
“For many years I have fought for improved services and support for people in their darkest hours and the plan published by the Department today is quite similar to the North West taskforce pilot which I put to them almost four years ago.
“A regional approach to mental health crisis, one which places the immediate needs of individuals is an integral part of mental health support and suicide prevention.
“The Minister’s plan while admirable needs to be adequately resourced if people are to get the help they so badly need as and when they need it.
“Derry’s Crisis Intervention Centre stands as an example of the inconsistent approach previously displayed by the department in their piecemeal funding.
“It is important that there is a consistent approach across all trusts and that the approach is consistently good.
“This service must also acknowledge the overlap between mental health and addiction, an overlap which has resulted in people falling through the cracks and lives being lost.
“The new service must be equipped to deal with this element of dual diagnosis which is so desperately needed throughout the North, to allow people to access services rather than being prevented from availing of them.
“I look forward to further detail on this crucial initiative,” added Mr Durkan.
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