Jan O'Sullivan
Question:10 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health and Children his policy with regard to the establishment of a national genetic centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10481/99]
Other Questions. - National Genetic Centre.
Policy on developing a national medical genetics service was set down in the 1990 report of a committee which had been established for that purpose. The report recommended the establishment of a medical genetics centre in Dublin in a paediatric environment and made suggestions for further developments in this field.
In line with this recommendation a national medical genetics centre was established in 1993 on the campus of Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, and has continued to be developed to date. Considerable capital and revenue expenditure has been invested in the centre and a second consultant appointment was recently made in recognition of the central role which the centre plays, and will continue to play, in the practice of medicine.
There may have been a mix up in the wording of the question – I wanted to ask about the expansion of the service. There is one centre in Crumlin. There is a waiting list for genetic counselling. Does the Minister not feel that it is a service which should be extended to other centres? Is the Minister aware that, in certain circumstances, when people receive genetic counselling, by changing their lifestyle they can prevent certain conditions arising? Genetic counselling is an important part of preventative medicine. Does the Minister accept the need for expansion on a national basis to ensure genetic counselling is provided as a matter of course?
The Minister said that the centre is situated in the grounds of Our Lady's Hospital, Crumlin. Does it come under the control of the hospital board? The Archbishop is chairman of that board and I wonder if that gives potential for difficulties. Is there a separate board structure for the genetic centre?
My understanding is that the centre would come within the remit of the board because it is on the grounds of Our Lady's Hospital. I am not aware of any other authority being responsible for its governance. I will confirm that for the Deputy.
It is the expert view on this issue that service development which might weaken, fragment or duplicate the functions of the national centre should be discouraged. Therefore, there is a need for us to improve the services on the site rather than dissipate effort over a range of sites. The appointment of a second consultant post there recently is testimony to the recognition of the need for improvement. The expert advice is that we should improve the national centre because the provision of medical genetic services has been lacking and remains behind that of other European countries. There is strong support in the medical community and lay groups for the development of this field. In answer to the question about other places doing similar work, while I know we have this problem in Dublin in relation to a range of services, it is not the way to go.