asked the Minister for Health if agreement has been reached with the Eastern Health Board, the representatives of the staff involved and the hospital board to open a psychiatric unit in Beaumont Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Beaumont (Dublin) Hospital Psychiatric Unit.
23.
The Eastern Health Board have agreed that arrangements should now be made which will enable the psychiatric unit at Beaumont Hospital to open as an integral part of the psychiatric service for north-east Dublin.
The Beaumont Hospital Board have decided to support the concept of having an integrated community and hospital psychiatric service in this area and to proceed immediately with arrangements for the joint appointment with the Eastern Health Board of two consultant psychiatrists.
Officers of my Department had an initial meeting with representatives of the relevant staff organisations and further meetings are now being arranged.
Would the Minister accept that it is not really practical to open one section of a 720 bed hospital when he is not opening the whole hospital? There will be services such as catering where the whole dining area has to be opened up to provide for these patients.
In the ordinary course of events, if one were starting from scratch and there was no other staff in the hospital, I would agree that it would be ineffective and uneconomical. But there are already 27 staff working in the hospital and at a meeting of the board of the hospital on 13 May the board agreed to seek the appropriate approvals to the appointment of the two consultant psychiatrists, to the structure of those posts and to the service to be provided. So we are going ahead and we will have the 34 beds opened there. They can be opened quite separately and will service the community care area No. 8 incorporating Coolock, Killester, Raheny, Howth, Swords and Balbriggan, a population area of about 180,000. I see no reason why those 34 beds cannot be opened.
When does the Minister expect to have them opened?
I want to thank the board. The board met on 13 May and agreed to go ahead with the psychiatric units, so that is considerable progress in the phased opening of Beaumont Hospital.