Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 April 2011
130 Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will provide a breakdown of funding in the area of mental health and specifically funding in the area of suicide prevention and crisis awareness groups. [7103/11]
View answer141 Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will provide a breakdown of funding in the area of mental health, specifically funding in the area of suicide prevention and crisis awareness groups. [7039/11]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 141 together.
The Revised Estimates for Public Services 2011 indicate expenditure of €920 million for the provision of in-patient, out-patient and community mental health services. This figure includes €8.7 million for suicide prevention of which €4.2 million is available to the National Office for Suicide Prevention and €4.5 million is available regionally to fund Resource Officers for Suicide Prevention, A&E Self-Harm Liaison Nurses and local suicide prevention initiatives including crisis awareness groups.
131 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health and Children his policy on ending the practice of placing children in adult psychiatric wards and if this practice will be ended in 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6954/11]
View answer132 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans that are in place to ensure that all children and adolescents receive access to age appropriate mental health services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6955/11]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 131 and 132 together.
A child should only be admitted as an in-patient to a psychiatric facility as a last resort, and should as far as possible receive the necessary treatment in the community. In this regard it is noted that the Government for National Recovery is committed to reforming our model of healthcare delivery so that more care is delivered in the community; access to modern mental health services in the community will therefore be significantly improved. It is proposed to ring fence €35 million annually from within the health budget to develop community mental health teams and services to ensure early access to more appropriate services for both adults and children.
In terms of child and adolescent mental health service infrastructure, currently the bed capacity is 52. Work is due to commence later this year on the second phase of the child and adolescent unit at St. Vincent's Hospital, Fairview which will increase capacity from 6 to 12 beds, providing 58 beds nationally by 2012. Work on the Linn Dara Child and Adolescent Mental Health Day Facility in Cherry Orchard, Dublin is expected to be completed by September 2011. It is envisaged that the provision of improved community based services, coupled with an increase in bed capacity, will put an end to the practice of placing children and adolescents in adult psychiatric facilities.
