Dr. Brendan Doody:

To answer the Deputy’s question, again, the young people who are admitted to an inpatient setting may have a range of difficulties. We talk about young people, for example, with eating disorders, for whom, clearly, the primary goal of inpatient is weight restoration and normalisation of dietary intake such that the young person is able to function and return to be with their family and in the community. In a sense, when it comes to a clear outcome, that would be the target for a young person with an eating disorder.

All young people who are admitted will have care plans, which identify the goals of treatment and admission. These are updated on a regular basis. During the admission, the team will work closely with the community service to which the young person will return to on discharge. That is very important because the inpatient setting is very intensive and stepping down to a community setting can at times be both daunting and challenging, that is, going from a very intensive service to a community service. Again, it is very much about identifying what additional supports will facilitate and allow for that transition. That transition obviously takes working with the young person, the family, but also the services in the community. Are there additional supports that can be provided within the service that the young person is attending?

With regard to the young person reintegrating, our school is also a very important part of our service. The Linn Dara schools will link with the young person’s school to make sure that young person has a smooth transition back into his or her school and assess if a different type of schooling is required. We also run a kind of a transition school programme. Young people can step down within our educational programme. That is, again, very helpful in that transition from inpatient back to the community. Should a young person require readmission, and a proportion of our admissions every year will be readmissions-----