Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am usually brief but do not quote me on that. In the interests of brevity, I will only ask questions, although I can make statements. I thank Mr. Walsh and Dr. McCormack for their briefings on CHO 7. The Chairman will discuss the issue of money, as not being able to discover what the budget is has got us around this table numerous times. I will ask different questions. Some are specific to CHO 7 while others are more reflective of an opinion.

The main issue that I raised almost every day in the Chamber last year was that of the closure of Linn Dara. Is it fully operational now and what impact had its closure on the waiting list? There are 93 young people on it. Is that worse or better? There has been a knock-on effect. The organisation worked hard to reduce waiting times to 12 months, but the six-to-nine-month and nine-to-12-month lists must be worked on now. The closure had an impact on those as well.

There are three suicide prevention resources officers. Where are they based? Are there measures of outcomes and successes? Ms Walshe stated that CHO 9 saw a 50% reduction with just two resource officers, which is commendable and the right way to go. Are there data on how effective they have been?

My next question is on IT. We have been debating reform and Deputy Neville and I attended a committee this morning where IT systems were discussed. "IT" seems to be a scary term in the world of mental health services. Are there plans for a state-of-the-art IT system? It would cut back on administration and be efficient. There could be apps that members of the general population could click on to find out where their cases stood. The national children's hospital is planned to be high-tech in that regard. A new system could be piggybacked on the state-of-the-art IT system that the Department of Children and Youth Affairs is tendering for in respect of affordable child care services. Perhaps CHO 7 could learn from or buy into that success. It is a large area of work, but it is the area of the future and will make everything much more manageable in the health services and guide front-line workers.

A Vision for Change is done and dusted but it has never been implemented in its entirety. Adult services and, to an extent, old age psychiatry are steady enough even though there are many vacancies. The Ombudsman for Children has stated that A Vision for Change's chapter on children - chapter 10 - is at the back of the book and no one really gets that far. We give up half way through. In the witnesses' opinion, would it be better for us to develop A Vision for Change or a stand-alone sister policy in respect of children?

Our urgent care model is accident and emergency. That is usually the only way that people in distress can attend out of hours. Could other models of care throughout Europe, the US and Australia be considered? There is a different approach to urgent care in Australia, in that it is semi-separate from the accident and emergency system and is not caught up in it. It is dedicated to those in mental distress. Considering it would be good.

We used to have many rehab units and A Vision for Change did not foresee the need for medium-to-long-term care. Mr. Walsh alluded to the potential need for more units. Are there plans in that regard and how many more would be needed?

I am curious. Perhaps I am just being suspicious, although I am not normally. Dr. McCormack is heading up a group comprising the HSE and voluntary agencies to develop a mental health and intellectual disability team. It will be an in-house team run and directed by the HSE, as opposed to section 39 and voluntary agencies. Will Dr. McCormack comment on this matter? I might be reading too much into it.

In light of the discussion that the Oireachtas and country will have over the next few months on the sexual and reproductive health of women and girls, does Mr. Walsh believe that dedicated mother and baby facilities need to tie into an overhaul of sexual and reproductive health services for women? While the Coombe hospital provides access to a neonatal doctor, there is not a single bed in the country for mammies and their newborns.