Vol. 508 No. 1
509 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Health and Children the proposals, if any, he has to sanction the South-Eastern Health Board post-graduate psychiatric nursing course at Waterford Institute of Technology in view of the fact the course has been approved by the NCEA and An Bord Altranais; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18040/99]
As the Deputy will be aware, last year my Department had no choice but to shelve plans for an intake of psychiatric nursing students to a number of schools of psychiatric nursing, including the South-Eastern Health Board, due to the fact that an insufficient number of applicants were successful. Only 92 of the 201 training places available nationally last year on the psychiatric nursing registration-diploma programme were filled.
In the light of the disappointing outcome to last year's competitions, a concerted marketing campaign at local level was undertaken by all of the schools of psychiatric nursing to raise the profile of psychiatric nursing. I provided substantial funding to each of the schools concerned for the campaign as well as to the Nursing Careers Centre for the development of promotional materials. I am delighted to be in a position to inform the Deputy that this campaign has been highly successful and has resulted in a record 242 training places being filled to date on this year's psychiatric nursing diploma programme. The Deputy will be particularly interested to learn that the intake of students to the South-Eastern Health Board school of psychiatric nursing currently stands at 36 with a possibility of it being increased to 40 by the weekend. The school's intake this year was originally intended to be 25 students. Additional funding is being made available to the health board to cover the cost of the extra students.
In view of the unqualified success of this year's competitions, I do not see the need for a post-graduate psychiatric nursing course. It is important to bear in mind that such a course is primarily designed to cater for practising registered general and mental handicap nurses and, as such, would have the effect of withdrawing nurses from the existing workforce. The Deputy will be aware of the difficulties some general hospitals and mental handicap agencies are experiencing in recruiting nurses. I understand the proposed diploma course referred to by the Deputy has not been formally approved by An Bord Altranais to date.
