I will take the questions about the child and adolescent mental health service development, and Professor McNicholas will deal with the questions on the children's hospital.
To refer back to the first Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service, CAMS, report published in 2009, it identified that eating disorders was the second highest issue of inpatient requirement, second only to depression. There is no question that it is a serious issue requiring a serious response.
On the child and adolescent mental health teams in place, at the end of 2009 there were 55 teams in place, which is welcome. However, many of the teams are not complete. The expectation of a staffing level of a team is 13, of which 11 are clinical. That is the multidisciplinary team that must be in place and it would include a consultant psychiatrist, a doctor in training, two psychiatric nurses, two clinical psychologists, two social workers, an occupational therapist, speech and language therapists, child care, administration staff and, in regard to eating disorders, a nutrition dietitian would be part of that team. It is a matter of concern that the teams are not in place in their entirety and that the teams themselves are not complete.
On Deputy Neville's question about treatment options, if the HSE needs to do so it can buy public bed space from some of the private providers if it is not available. St. John of God Hospital and St. Patrick's Hospital have bed space that can be bought, if necessary. In some cases it is done through the paediatric system, which Professor McNicholas will refer to, and in other cases personnel are sent outside the country for treatment. Last year, four people were sent outside the jurisdiction for treatment. We have not been able to establish whether they were adults, children or a mix. That is not an ideal position for the person or for the family. We would like to see the investment being put into the service here to ensure that course of action is not necessary.
Deputy O'Hanlon asked about the relationship between Bodywhys and the HSE. We receive a small amount of core funding from the HSE. Last year, Bodywhys got €300,000. That sum has been reduced this year with the cuts in expenditure. We have a good working relationship with the HSE. It recognises us as the national support organisation.
We do not provide therapy. Our role is specific and very much on the support element. The support structures we have in place are recognised and supported by the HSE. One of the recommendations in A Vision for Change is that the voluntary sector working in the area would be supported and encouraged regarding the work we do.
Also, one of the recommendations concerned health promotion initiatives and we have been working with the National Office of Suicide Prevention. We have been co-branding with it in respect of some of our initiatives on health promotion.
Deputy Neville also expressed concern about the lack of regulation in the area of counselling. It is a huge concern because it affects vulnerable people. We would like to make sure that anybody seeking treatment would do so in a regulated area. That is something we will work on to determine if it can be progressed along the agenda.