Vol. 486 No. 5
73 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of calls logged by Childline on its freefone numbers for each of the last three years; and the number of referrals which have been made to health boards on foot of these calls in the same period. [2973/98]
It is stated in documentation published by the ISPCC that over 150,000 children phone Childline every year. Information available to my Department concerning the number of referrals received by the health boards from the Childline service for each of the years 1995-97 is set out in the following table. However, it should be noted that a number of health boards have pointed out that many referrals from Childline contain inadequate information for follow-up or the use of fictitious names.
Number of referrals from Childline to Health Boards for the Years 1995-97
|
Health Boards |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
|
Eastern |
* |
139 |
* |
|
Midland |
13 |
13 |
1 |
|
Mid-Western |
6 |
11 |
25 |
|
North-Eastern |
9 |
12 |
10 |
|
North-Western |
2** |
2** |
15** |
|
South-Eastern |
Nil |
8 |
10 |
|
Southern |
* |
30 |
44 |
|
Western |
14 |
20 |
14 |
