Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of inpatient beds in the health service to treat eating disorders. [29402/07]

Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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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. 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 other specialised eating disorder private services in Dublin or the UK.

The Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy, entitled "A Vision for Change", which was launched in January 2006, provides a framework for action to develop a modern, high quality mental health service over a 7 to 10 year period. "A Vision for Change" acknowledges gaps in the current provision of services for people 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, training on eating disorders for undergraduate and postgraduate training of health professionals, the further development of primary and community care services including the management of eating disorders in children and adolescents by the child and adolescent community mental health teams, the creation of specialist multidisciplinary adult teams and the provision of a full multidisciplinary team in a National Centre for Eating Disorders for complex cases that cannot be managed by local child and adolescent community mental health teams. Responsibility for the implementation of these recommendations rests with the HSE.

A sum of €750,000 has been allocated to the HSE in 2007 to develop services for the treatment of eating disorders. €500,000 of this funding was provided to enhance the service in the Elm Mount Unit, St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin and the balance of €250,000 has been allocated to HSE South to commence the development of an eating disorder service. In addition, funding was provided for the development of 16 child and adolescent community mental health teams in 2006 and 2007.