First nationwide mental health survey gets underway
05 May 2026
First nationwide mental health survey gets underway 5 May 2026: The first ever National Mental Health Experience Survey is now open to people who have accessed care across 35 adult acute approved centres in Ireland. The survey is a joint initiative between the Department of Health, Mental Health Commission and the HSE, facilitated by the National Care Experience Programme (NCEP). The nationwide survey aims to improve mental health services across Ireland by asking people about their experiences of inpatient mental health care to find out what is working well and what can be improved.
The survey includes 66 questions and covers all stages of inpatient mental health care, including admission, care and treatment, interactions with staff, and experiences during discharge and follow-up care. People aged 18 years of age or older who are discharged from an inpatient mental health unit or hospital from April to July will be invited to participate. Eligible participants will receive an invitation by post and can fill it out the survey online using a QR code or return it via Freepost.
Launching the survey, Minister for Mental Health Mary Butler TD said: “Including, valuing, and learning from the voice of lived and living experience are core principles supporting our work to improve mental health services.” “The National Mental Health Experience Survey empowers people who use services to provide valuable insights and perspectives of their own experience of inpatient mental health care.” “Acting on the feedback of people with lived and living experience is crucial to the delivery of better services, and I would encourage everyone eligible to participate in the National Mental Health Experience Survey.” “This is a timely opportunity to feed into service improvement as we embark on a major capital programme to replace many of our acute inpatient centres and as we begin implementation of the new Mental Health Act.”
John Farrelly, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Commission, said: “The National Mental Health Experience Survey marks a significant step forward in ensuring that the voices of people who use our mental health services are heard and acted upon. Gathering the views and insights of patients and service users is essential to understanding what is working well and where improvements are needed.” “Listening to lived experience is central to how we regulate and support services. The findings from this survey will provide important evidence to help identify good practice, highlight areas for improvement, and support services to maintain high standards and deliver safe, person centred care across the country.”
HSE Chief Executive Officer Anne O’Connor said: “The survey will allow people to share with us how they have experienced their care and treatment in adult inpatient mental health services. This is the first survey of its kind and I strongly encourage those who are invited to participate to take part. We will listen and learn from the individual lived experiences and use the information to bring about effective and sustainable improvements. The active participation of service users in all aspects of mental health service improvement is an integral part of our national mental health policy Sharing the Vision and is a key focus of the HSE’s Office of Mental Health Engagement and Recovery. We are committed to enhancing the quality of mental health services to improve the experiences of people and their families.”
All survey responses will be anonymised, analysed, and compiled into a national report detailing the quality of mental health care. The findings will guide improvements at national, regional and local levels. The final report will be published in 2027 and made available to the public on www.yourexperience.ie.