Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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830. To ask the Minister for Health his progress in providing suicide crisis assessment nurses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10282/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse (SCAN) Initiative was first set up in 2008 in line with A Vision for Change's proposed shift towards community-based provision of multidisciplinary services. Under this initiative, GPs can refer directly to SCAN Nurses for assessment and advice on management of their patients who attend their surgeries with suicidal ideation. In each of these settings, a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment is carried out together with an assessment of mental state and a risk assessment for suicide. On the basis of this, a care plan is drawn up and the next steps depend on the psychosocial stresses identified together with the presence or absence of a mental illness such as depression.

At present there are 15 SCAN nurses providing service nationwide. A number of new sites have expressed interest in developing SCAN and are being considered at present.