16 May 2006

Health

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

Ciarán Cuffe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the Ombudsman for Children has raised a number of concerns regarding child and adolescent mental health services, including the placing of Irish children in adult psychiatric units in a submission sent to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child; and the action he intends to take to address the issue.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Mr. T. O’Malley):

I am aware of concerns expressed by the Ombudsman for Children regarding the placement of children and adolescents in adult psychiatric units. While there has been a significant decline in the numbers of children and adolescents being placed in adult facilities since 2000, I accept that the placement of any child or adolescent with mental health problems in an adult psychiatric facility is inappropriate.

The report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy, entitled “A Vision for Change”, was launched in January this year. It has been accepted by the Government as the basis for the future development of the Mental Health Services. The report identified the lack of in-patient facilities for children and adolescents as a deficiency in service provision which requires attention as a matter of urgency. To address this problem it is intended to develop additional dedicated child and adolescent in-patient units as a matter of urgency. Multidisciplinary teams will also be provided for these units to ensure the highest standards of care are provided to children and adolescents requiring in-patient mental health services.

€3.25m has been allocated this year by the HSE for acute beds for children and adolescent psychiatry and the further enhancement of child and adolescent psychiatric services. The HSE has also established a working group on child and adolescent mental health which will map existing child and adolescent services; examine the needs of 16 and 17 year olds with mental illness; and examine the interface between children and adolescent and adult mental health services. This working group will report in June this year.

In addition to the steps being taken to increase the number of in-patient beds for children and adolescents with mental health difficulties, additional funding has been provided for the appointment of additional consultants in child and adolescent psychiatry, for the enhancement of existing consultant-led multidisciplinary teams and the establishment of new teams. This has resulted in the funding of an extra 23 child and adolescent consultant psychiatrists, bringing the total number of such psychiatrists to 56.