Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 128: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will provide an update on the implementation of recommendations from the Department's own report, A Vision For Change, in relation to eating disorders; the waiting lists that currently exist for people with eating disorders; if she will provide a breakdown of young people awaiting treatment for eating disorders; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29523/06]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 188: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her plans for increasing the services available for those suffering from eating disorders. [29597/06]

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 188 together.

Community based mental health services receive referrals from their colleagues in primary care and provide assessment and treatment to individuals with eating disorders. Outpatient psychiatric services are provided from a network of hospitals, health centres, day hospitals and day centres. However, where the individual's psychiatric or medical needs are more acute, in-patient admission is offered within the local psychiatric services or acute medical care where necessary.

St Vincent's Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin provides a referral service for public patients with eating disorders and has three dedicated national public beds for the assessment of such patients. There is currently a waiting list of 18 months for these in-patient beds. Some HSE areas have placed public patients with eating disorders in St Patrick's Hospital and St John of God's private facilities when required. In a limited number of cases, consultants make referrals to specialised eating disorder private services in Dublin or the UK.

"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 recommended that this National Centre be located in one of the national children's hospitals to deal with 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 the next seven to ten years. An additional €25 million was made available this year to the HSE for the further development of our mental health services.

The HSE has established an implementation group to plan and manage the full implementation of "A Vision for Change". An independent monitoring group has also been established to monitor progress in implementing the report's recommendations and report to me on an annual basis.