The
Mid West Catchment Area
provides a comprehensive, accessible community based Mental Health service to a population of over 400,000 persons, in Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary.
Clinical services are provided to populations organised in geographical areas called sectors, ranging in populations from 20,000 in some rural areas to 57,000 in urban areas and served by a specialist Community Mental Health Team (CMHT).
The Mid-West Area
has 11 General Adult Psychiatry Sectors, Four Old Age Psychiatry teams, 2 Rehab Team and other specialist teams including Peri-Natal, ADHD, Forensic, Liaison Psychiatry, CAMHS and plans for a Dual Diagnosis Team. Each sector has a Day Hospital which is the locus of service delivery and is the base from which the CMHT functions. The Community Mental Health Team is multi-disciplinary and provides a holistic range of clinical and therapeutic interventions relevant to the needs of service users, their families and carers. CMHT composition and skill mix reflects the varied competencies provided by psychiatry, clinical psychology, nursing, occupational therapy and social work. Other inputs, such as addiction counselling, art and social therapies are also provided. Treatment modalities include day hospital care, early/crisis intervention, assertive outreach, home-based care and community residential options. The CMHT has access to acute in-patient beds as part of the service delivery model
Currently there are Consultant Psychiatrist positions to provide General Adult Psychiatry services. Each Consultant provides services for a sector within the Mid-West Catchment Area. The clinical activity profile for the service area shows that the service delivery is becoming increasingly community focused and with less reliance on hospital service provision. In recent years, there has been an increasing referral rate due to the accessibility of community-based service options and an emerging morbidity is identified within the population served.
Child & Adult Mental Health Service:
In the Mid West the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service is a regional service which incorporates North Tipperary, Limerick City and County Clare. The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service is a Consultant led community based service provided by 6 multi-disciplinary teams serving East, West and Central Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary (the old Mid-West Region). The service is delivered on an Out-Patient basis. The population of the area is 384,988 of which 96,266 are in the 0-18 age group (Census 2016).
The services provide assessment, diagnosis and treatment for children and adolescents with mental health disorders.
The aims and objectives of the service are to provide an integrated, accessible and comprehensive community based mental service to the client group in the Mid West.
The philosophy and approach of the service is to treat the young person presenting with a mental health difficulty as close to possible to their own community and within the context of their own family environment.