From The Irish Times: “A new training approach to mental health care was launched by the Mental Health Commission (MHC) in Ireland on Wednesday, together with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Organisations from the public, private and NGO sectors across the country gathered in Dublin to pledge to promote a ‘human rights-based approach’ to mental health care across the State.
The launch coincided with a new report on the use of restraints and seclusion on mental health patients, which shows that episodes of physical restraint and the numbers undergoing physical restraint have continued to decrease since 2019.
Chief executive of the MHC, John Farrelly, said there is a global movement taking place that is empowering people to promote the human rights of people with mental health difficulties.
‘The new approach that we are launching this morning is designed to support people to understand a human rights model of mental health. Specifically, how organisations and individuals can constructively and collaboratively contribute to advancing the rights set out in United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,’ Mr Farrelly said.
The countrywide approach has the support of the HSE, the National Ambulance Service, An Garda Síochána, the Irish Prison Service, the Irish Courts Service; as well as government, private and not-for-profit organisations, Mr Farrelly said.”