Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 June 2004
31 Ms Burton asked the Minister for Health and Children the waiting time for child and adolescent psychiatric services in each health board area in view of the serious deficiencies in same; the financial allocation for 2004 to develop the services; and the progress made in establishing a database. [18360/04]
View answerIn June 2000 the Minister established a working group on child and adolescent psychiatry. It was tasked with recommending how child and adolescent psychiatric services should be developed in the short, medium and long-term to meet identified needs. Its first report was published in March 2001. It recommended the enhancement and expansion of the overall child and adolescent psychiatric service, including the recruitment of additional consultant child and adolescent psychiatrists.
Since 1997 additional funding of almost €19 million was provided to allow for the appointment of additional consultants in child and adolescent psychiatry, for the enhancement of existing consultant led multidisciplinary teams and towards the establishment of further teams. It resulted in a considerable expansion in the number of professionals employed in the mental health sector. For example, since 1997 an extra 19 child and adolescent psychiatrists posts have been funded. There are now 52 child and adolescent psychiatrists in place. These developments have had a positive impact on the waiting times for initial psychiatric assessment.
To date the working group has made recommendations on the organisation of services for the treatment and management of attention deficit hyperactive disorder, the provision of child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient units and the provision of services for 16 to 18 year olds.
My Department does not routinely collect information on the number of children on the waiting list for psychiatric assessment and the waiting times for such assessments. In the course of its work on services for 16 to 18 year olds the working group noted a lack of information on referrals and non-attendees at outpatient clinics. Among its recommendations was the establishment of a database on this area. The recommendation will be considered in the context of the Estimates process for 2005 and subsequent years.
The future direction and delivery of all aspects of our mental health services, including child and adolescent psychiatry, will be considered in the context of the work of the expert group on mental health policy. I expect the group to submit a report in 2005.
