Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

Most children with mental health problems are supported in the community. However, a small percentage of children and adolescents with mental health problems require inpatient treatment. Specialist public inpatient psychiatric services for children and adolescents are provided at Warrenstown House, Dublin and St. Anne's, Taylor's Hill, Galway, with capacity for the treatment of 20 inpatients.

A Vision for Change, the report of the working group on mental health policy, was published in January this year. The report addresses the future direction and delivery of all aspects of mental health services, including child and adolescent psychiatry. The Government has accepted the report and €25 million in additional funding has been provided this year for the further enhancement of mental health services. This brings the total funding for mental health services in 2006 to approximately €835 million.

A Vision for Change acknowledges the gaps in the current provision of child and adolescent mental health services and makes ten recommendations for the improvement of these services. In particular, the report recognises the need for additional child and adolescent inpatient beds. It recommends that urgent attention be given to the completion of four child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient units and that multidisciplinary teams should be provided for these units.

Project teams have been established by the HSE to develop four additional child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric units. The exact location of the units and the number of beds to be provided in each unit is being considered by the HSE. The recommendation is that there will be one in Limerick, Cork, Galway and Dublin. The approximate size of each unit will be 20 but there will be discrepancies in areas with larger populations. The aim is to ensure the units are located in the areas of greatest need and provide the most appropriate care setting for children and adolescents with mental health problems. Both the range of ages and the variety of disorders requiring inpatient treatment must be given careful consideration when planning child and adolescent inpatient services.

The mental health needs of children and adolescents are also being addressed by the appointment of additional child and adolescent psychiatrists, the enhancement of existing consultant-led multidisciplinary teams and the establishment of further teams. The number of child and adolescent psychiatrists' posts has increased considerably from 56 in 2005 to 70 in May 2006. Hopefully, this will have a knock-on effect in reducing waiting lists and the further provision for mental health services for children and adolescents.

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