Mental Health Strategy Action 17: Community and Voluntary Sector Review
Date published:
Publication of Ernst & Young LLP Report on Mental Health Strategy Action 17: Community and Voluntary Sector Review
Action 17 of the Mental Health Strategy commits to “fully integrate the community and voluntary sector in mental health service delivery with a lifespan approach, including the development of a protocol to make maximum use of the sector’s expertise”. The Strategy envisages the community & voluntary (C&V) sector as true partners who are fully integrated in ensuring improved outcomes for the population and fully included in the planning, development and delivery of mental health services.
Ernst & Young (EY) LLP was appointed in December 2024 to undertake an independent review of the scope, scale and capacity of the C&V sector, targeting those organisations that have a ‘constitutional mandate’ to operate in the mental health care arena. The aim of the review was to identify how best the C&V sector can be fully integrated in the development and delivery of mental health services, ensuring improved outcomes for the population. The review, which was conducted over a 3 month period from December 2024 to March 2025, built on the findings and recommendations from an earlier report by Brenda Kelly Consulting in March 2023 on harnessing the collective voice of the sector to inform delivery of the Mental Health Strategy. The final report sets out a number of recommendations for future integration of the C&V sector, underpinned by comprehensive data collated via a survey and direct engagement with C&V providers.
The Department intends to establish a C&V Review Task and Finish Group, co-chaired by the Department and a representative of the C&V sector, to oversee and drive future implementation.