Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 21 May 2003

Vol. 567 No. 2

Written Answers. - Eating Disorders.

Mary Upton

Question:

213 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Health and Children the steps he proposes to improve services for people suffering from bulimia and other eating disorders; if he will increase the number of public beds available in St. Patrick's Hospital to cater for sufferers; and if persons with bulimia are entitled to a long-term illness card to help their recovery. [13951/03]

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Mr. T. O'Malley)

Responsibility for the management and treatment of a person with bulimia and other eating disorders rests with the individual patient's clinician. However, persons presenting with eating disorders are generally treated through the psychiatric services of their local health board. Outpatient psychiatric services are provided from a network of hospitals, health centres, day hospitals and day centres. Where in-patient treatment is deemed necessary, it is provided in the local acute psychiatric unit or hospital, beds being allocated on the basis of patient need at any particular time. A tertiary referral service for eating disorders is available to public patients in St. Vincent's Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin where three in-patient beds are designated for this purpose.

I am aware that St. Patrick's Hospital, Dublin caters for both private and publicly funded patients. However, as St. Patrick's is a private hospital, I have no function in its admission policy or bed designation.

As outlined in the 2001 national health strategy, Quality and Fairness: A Health System for You, the working group on child and adolescent psychiatry will be preparing a report on services for people with eating disorders and how they can best be developed in the short, medium and long-term. The working group has already invited submissions from interested parties for the purposes of compiling its report.

Bulimia is not included in the list of conditions which are covered by the long-term illness scheme. There are no plans to extend the long-term illness scheme to include other illnesses at this time. However, there are a range of other schemes in existence which provide assistance towards the cost of approved drugs and medicines for individuals with significant ongoing medical expenses.