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Mental Health Services.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 November 2004

Tuesday, 9 November 2004

Ceisteanna (79)

Olivia Mitchell

Ceist:

136 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the number of specialist beds available in each of the health board areas to treat patients suffering from eating disorders; and if her attention has been drawn to the under capacity to treat or respond in a timely fashion to patients, particularly young patients, presenting with this problem. [27743/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As part of a comprehensive community oriented psychiatric service, persons presenting with eating disorders are generally treated in their own health board area. Where inpatient treatment is deemed necessary, it is provided in child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient units or the local acute psychiatric unit or hospital. Outpatient services are provided from hospitals, health centres, day hospitals and day centres. In addition, a tertiary referral service for eating disorders is available in St. Vincent's Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin, where three inpatient beds are designated for this purpose. A similar service is available privately at St. Patrick's Hospital, James's Street, Dublin 8, and at St. John of God Hospital, Stillorgan, County Dublin.

At present, psychiatric inpatient services for children and adolescents under 16 years of age are provided in Warrenstown House, Dublin, and St. Anne's, Taylors Hill, in Galway. Project teams have been established to progress the development of new child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric units in Cork, Galway, Limerick and at St. Vincent's Hospital, Fairview, in the Eastern Regional Health Authority area. Approval was recently given by the Department of Health and Children to the relevant health board to proceed with the selection of a design team for the proposed units in Cork, Galway and Limerick. It is envisaged that the focus of these centres will be the assessment and treatment of psychiatric, emotional or family disorders, including eating disorders, using a combination of family systemic, individual psycho-dynamic and medical model perspectives.

The internationally acknowledged best practice for the provision of child and adolescent psychiatric services is through the multi-disciplinary team. Since 1997, additional funding of almost €19 million has been 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. This has resulted in the funding of a further 19 child and adolescent consultant psychiatrists. Nationally, there are now 52 such psychiatrists employed.

An expert group on mental health policy is preparing a national policy framework for the further modernisation of the mental health services, updating the 1984 policy document, Planning for the Future. The future direction and delivery of all aspects of our mental health services, including those services for persons with an eating disorder, will be considered in the context of the work of the group. It is expected that the expert group will report in 2005.

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