Written answers

Tuesday, 28 March 2006

Department of Health and Children

Mental Health Services

11:00 pm

Photo of Caoimhghín Ó CaoláinCaoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 153: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the steps she has taken to implement the recommendations from the expert group on mental health policy report, A Vision For Change, which states that up to 200,000 people here have an eating disorder; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11668/06]

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The future direction and delivery of all aspects of our mental health services, including services for persons with eating disorders, were considered in the context of the work of the expert group on mental health policy. The group's report, A Vision for Change, was published on 24 January 2006. The report sets out how positive mental health can be promoted generally in our society, and how specialist mental health services can be delivered efficiently to persons with eating disorders who need them.

A Vision for Change acknowledges gaps in the current provision of mental health services for persons with eating disorders and makes several recommendations for the further improvement of these services. Recommendations include support for health promotion initiatives that encourage greater community and family awareness of eating disorders, the further development of primary and community care services and the provision of a full multidisciplinary team in a national centre for eating disorders. It is recommended that this national centre be located in one of the national children's hospitals for complex cases that cannot be managed by local child and adolescent community mental health teams. The Government has accepted the expert group's report as the basis for the future development of the mental health services. In this connection an additional €25 million was made available this year to the HSE for the further development of our mental health services.

The Health Service Executive, which has primary responsibility for implementing the recommendations of A Vision for Change is in the process of establishing an implementation group to ensure that the recommendations are realised in a timely and co-ordinated manner. I have also recently appointed an independent monitoring group, as recommended in the report, to oversee the implementation of A Vision for Change. This group will hold its inaugural meeting shortly.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.