Psychiatry
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Forensic Clinical Psychology
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The Forensic Clinical Psychology Service is growing at a steady pace within the National Forensic Service. A comprehensive psychological assessment service is provided which covers the following areas; normal and abnormal personality, neuropsychological difficulties, behavioural problems, mental disorder, risk of future violence, and offending behaviour. The service also offers individual psychotherapy and is currently developing group-based approaches to psychological intervention, such as anger management and cognitive skills training, to reduce risk of re-offending. Clinical Psychology also has a very active role in on-going training for staff, providing external teaching, and in supporting placements for Trainee Clinical Psychologists. The Clinical Psychology Service enjoys close working links with Clinical Psychology Departments at Trinity College, Dublin; University College Dublin; and The National University of Ireland, Galway.
Occupational Therapy
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The Occupational Therapy service in the National Forensic Mental Health Service was initiated in 2003. The service runs out of the Central Mental Hospital and Ushers Island.. Occupational Therapists form part of the multidisciplinary teams. The service aims at improving individual patient independence in activities of daily living and promotion of balanced and satisfactory lifestyle (personal management, leisure, social and work spheres) through engagement and active participation in different occupations.
Patients are treated as individuals or in a group. Therapeutic occupations in the hospital include:
- The wellness programme.
- Topic groups
- Calypso, drama and music
- GROW – a mental health support group
- Vocational activities including:
- Woodwork
- Picture framing
- Sign making
- Gardening
- Cookery
- Industrial therapy
- Indoor and outdoor sports.
- Therapeutic accompanied leave for clients outside the hospital.
Forensic Mental Health Social Work
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All patients admitted to the CMH will have access to a named social worker. The social work team consists of five social workers and a community support worker. There is one social worker within each Multidisciplinary and the Community Support Worker works with patients who are preparing for discharge have been discharged.
The primary functions of the Social Work team are:
- Provide individual social work assessment, ensuring that patient’s strengths are identified as part of the overall treatment and care planning process.
- To ensure that the personal, family, social, cultural and environmental issues that may have a bearing on the patient’s illness and recovery are assessed at the outset and their importance recognised.
- To ensure these issues, where appropriate, are addressed while the patient remains in the hospital as part of the overall treatment and care plan;
- Together with other members of the Multidisciplinary team to plan the patient’s discharge and after-care in co-operation with relevant agencies, so that the patient will have access to the range of services and support that will assist him/her to return successfully into the community while at the same time ensuring public protection;
- To ensure that throughout the whole of this process, the needs of other groups, especially children and victims, as well as those who are part of the patient’s social network in the community, are addressed and given the appropriate degree of priority.
- To encourage user involvement in their treatment, care and recovery through the care planning process
- To ensure that patients views are heard and that advocacy services are available to all patients.
- To contribute to developing groups and activities that aid recovery and reintegration
- To provide support and information to carers and relatives.
Forensic Nursing Service
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Forensic mental health nurses are central to the delivery of care within the NFMHS, since their introduction to the service in 1992 they have been to the forefront of changes which have taken place within the service. Nurses within the NFMHS work as part of the multidisciplinary team in the treatment, care and rehabilitation of patients and are central to the continuous development of patient treatment care plans. As nominated “key nurses” they have a central role in delivering programmes identified within the patients care plan and in the evaluation and management of key performance indicators within a team based approach. Nursing staff constitute the largest professional group with in the NFMHS, currently there are over 90 nurses employed and with future growth of the service this number will increase. |
