Vol. 568 No. 1
475 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason the National Disability Authority has again ignored ADHD in its second draft of national standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15776/03]
533 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of North West ADHD Action Group in relation to the omission of ADHD from the second draft of the NDA (details supplied). [15436/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 475 and 533 together.
The NDA, in consultation with the appropriate Departments and other statutory bodies, intends to develop a range of standards for services for people with disabilities, including mental health services. Recently the Mental Health Commission was established and it has a specific function in relation to standards in mental health services, including ADHD. As it has only been established the NDA decided to proceed to develop standards for people with autism, intellectual, physical and sensory disability.
The development of services for the management and treatment of attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was considered by the working group on child and adolescent psychiatric services established by my Department in June 2000. In its report, presented in March 2001, the group recommended the enhancement and expansion of the overall child and adolescent psychiatric service as the most effective means of providing the required service for children with this condition.
The group found that the internationally acknowledged best practice for the provision of child and adolescent psychiatric services is through the multidisciplinary team. In 2002 additional revenue funding of €6.061 million was allocated to provide for the appointment of additional consultants, for the enhancement of existing consultant led multidisciplinary teams and towards the establishment of further teams. A further €1.64 million was allocated in 2003.
