The Waterford, Dungarvan and South Kilkenny areas are set to be provided with a mental health Crisis Resolution Team (CRT).
The out of hours mental health service will provide short term, intensive, multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment to people with severe mental health difficulties in their homes.
Currently, there are just two Crisis Resolution Teams (CRTs) in the whole country and based in Dublin and Cork.
Speaking to Damien Tiernan on Déise Today, Minister of State for Mental Health Butler said it will hopefully divert people away from emergency departments.
"This team will serve adults who are experiencing an acute mental health crisis who otherwise are likely to present to hospital.
"They [the CRT] will provide a rapid assessment to treat service users at home where possible, and will also facilitate early discharge from the hospital," Deputy Butler said.
Mental Health Café Waterford
Meanwhile, there are also plans to open a peer-led mental health café for people in Waterford, where those experiencing issues will be able to engage directly with people who have lived mental health experiences.
“I am so encouraged that this CRT will also be complimented by a community café which offers accessible, out of hours, mental health support for people with varying levels of need.
"It will be the second café of its kind in Ireland, as the first café opened in Galway directly opposite University Hospital Galway.
"The café in Galway is called 'Mr. Waffle' and when the owner finishes up during the day, he hands it over to a team of mental health professionals," she said.
The CRT service is due to commence early next year (Q1 2022) and it is hoped the service will be available outside of normal working hours in Waterford and the South East to individuals aged 18 and over, through a referral from a GP, community mental health team, liaison mental health team or community café.
"There will always be people who will need acute inpatient supports in a Department of Psychiatry but this is to try and move it to a situation that you know there are supports there.
"If you're in distress at 10 o'clock on a Friday night there will now be an outpatient team there that can come to your house and support you," Deputy Butler said.
