Builders have packed up and moved out in at a major new Integrated Mental Health Campus at Toghermore in Tuam, Co Galway.

This week, Kathleen Lynch, T.D., the Minister of State for Disability, Equality, Mental Health and Older People, has officially unveiled a plaque to commemorate the development and the end of the construction contract.

Mental health services in the Tuam and Headford area have been re-located to the Toghermore campus over the past number of months, providing an integrated comprehensive facility for an array of mental health services, including Residential, Tuam Day Hospital, Tuam Day Centre, Training Centre, Horticulture, Social and Recreational facilities. Voluntary bodies such as Mental Health Ireland, Ability West, Pieta House and Special Olympics Ireland also have access to the facilities at Toghermore, offering the people of Tuam and Headford a one-stop location for mental health services.

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Speaking during her visit to Toghermore this week Minister Lynch said: "This Government is committed to the implementation of 'A Vision for Change' and ensuring that mental health patients enjoy optimum care in the most appropriate settings."

"My priority as Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health is to ensure that our mental health services are patient centred and recovery oriented. It is essential that individuals with mental illness can reclaim their lives, be involved in society and live as independently as possible. The development of this integrated campus at Toghermore brings together a range of mental health services which will undoubtedly have a hugely beneficial effect, not only on the lives of the patients, but also on the lives of their families and friends."

The Toghermore campus is located in a setting that is both beautiful and appropriate for the provision of a positive mental health environment for staff and clients alike.

"A large amount of restorative and renovation work has been carried out on the buildings at Toghermore to enable the HSE to provide a comprehensive range of community-based mental health services for the Tuam and Headford areas, and to further develop and enhance links between the specialist mental health services, primary care services and voluntary groups that are supportive of mental health.

(CD)