Jerry Cowley
Ceist:18 Dr. Cowley asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on a recent review of community child health services in the south east. [22805/02]
Written Answers. - Child Care Services.
The report is carried out by the South Eastern Health Board in relation to community child health services within its functional area. The review compares the existing services with the model child health service set out in the "Best Health for Children" report, identifies areas of divergence in practice against the proposed model, reports on gaps in service provision and makes recommendations for moving towards the model of practice recommended by "Best Health for Children".
In accordance with the 1970 Health Act, the statutory responsibility for the provision of child health services for pre-school children and those in national schools rests with the health boards. The question of the prioritisation of services and the allocation of resources to meet service demands within the context of its budgetary provision is a matter for each health board.
Child health services were the subject of an examination by the chief executive officers of the health boards and the outcome of that review was the report, "Best Health for Children", which was launched in 1999. This report recommends a model child health surveillance programme aimed at ensuring that all children have an opportunity to realise their full potential in terms of good health, well-being and development and that remediable disorders are identified and acted upon as early as possible. The co-ordinated approach to protect and promote children's health in partnership with parents and health professionals recommended in "Best Health for Children" has been fully endorsed in the recent health strategy.
In the context of facilitating the implementation of the recommendations of "Best Health for Children", my Department has allocated additional funding in the region of €2 million to the health boards and the Eastern Regional Health Authority in 2001 and 2002. The South Eastern Health Board has received €250,000 to assist it in implementing the recommendations. The additional funding provided to boards has been used to establish key posts, for example, that of child health development officer to assist in driving the implementation process at regional level and also to commence projects demonstrating best practice in particular areas of child health. These projects range from a model school health service in the North Western Health Board to a parent-held child health record system in the Mid-Western Health Board. In the case of the South Eastern Health Board, the project is aimed at the development of appropriate information and materials to meet the health information needs of parents and carers of children from the ante-natal to pre-school stage. A special feature of the implementation of the recommendations of the "Best Health for Children" report is that of conjoint working by all health boards and the Eastern Regional Health Authority. A national conjoint child health committee established by the chief executive officers of the boards and the authority is monitoring and overseeing the implementation of the recommendations and national child health co-ordinators are facilitating the process.
The report of community child health services in the South Eastern Health Board should be seen against the background of initiatives under way nationally aimed at improving child health services. Its publication is timely and provides a clear reference point for the board in planning for the development of services in its area. A vital element of the board's planning must necessarily involve consideration of the extent to which existing resources can be redeployed to ensure that deficiencies and gaps identified in the service are tackled and addressed. I understand the board has accepted the report as regional policy and that its regional child health committee has prioritised the recommendations in the report into short-term, medium-term and long-term targets. Furthermore, the board's regional child health development officer has been given the responsibility of working towards implementing the recommendations under the guidance and supervision of the regional child health steering committee.