Bernard Allen
Ceist:231 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he proposes to introduce a national strategy to develop rehabilitation services. [18621/01]
Vol. 539 No. 1
231 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he proposes to introduce a national strategy to develop rehabilitation services. [18621/01]
Effective rehabilitation draws on a broad range of services to meet the particular needs of patients with the objective of helping patients return to normal life in the community. In the light of this, a large element of rehabilitation services is provided on a day or community care basis. The relevant services range from specialist in-patient medical rehabilitation through such services as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy.
These services are often initiated in the context of in-patient treatment for another underlying illness or condition and subsequently continued on a day care basis or in the community, consistent with patients needs. Therefore, it is more appropriate to focus on ensuring that rehabilitation is provided to patients in the most appropriate setting rather than on the basis of identifying dedicated services for particular categories of patients other than those requiring specialist in-patient medical rehabilitation.