Vol. 449 No. 4
74 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Health the plans, if any, he has to provide modern geriatric care residential units at St. Brendan's Hospital, Grangegorman, Dublin 7; and the plans, if any, he has for the existing geriatric wards. [3633/95]
Limerick East): The Eastern Health Board is responsible for the provision of services in St. Brendan's Hospital, Grangegorman, Dublin 7. The board's proposals for the development of services for the elderly are in line with Government policy as expressed in the two policy documents, Planning for the Future and The Years Ahead dealing with services for the mentally ill and the elderly respectively. These policy documents advocate the development of a comprehensive range of facilities which are community-based, sectorised, integrated and appropriate to the needs of the patient.
On 31 December 1994, 58 patients in St. Brendan's Hospital were aged 65 years and over out of a total of 256 patients. As the existing elderly population in St. Brendan's Hospital is reduced, services for the elderly on the campus will be phased out.
This year, I made available a sum of £254,800 to the Eastern Health Board to provide a high support hostel in Bray to facilitate the transfer of elderly patients from St. Brendan's Hospital and to fund nursing home places for elderly patients transferred from the hospital.
The policy of the Eastern Health Board is to develop specialised old age psychiatric services providing early intervention, assessment and support of persons with dementia in the community, as well as frail elderly with psychiatric disabilities. Such services currently operate in community care areas 3, 4, 6 and 7. I have made funding available to enable a service to begin in community care areas 1 and 2 this year.
