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6th February 2003
PRESS STATEMENT
IRISH COLLEGE OF
PSYCHIATRISTS CONCERNED ABOUT INPATIENT SERVICES FOR CHILDREN
& ADOLESCENTS, AGED 0 YEARS TO 16TH BIRTHDAY
Recently the Child & Adolescent
Section of the Irish College of Psychiatrists (ICP) contacted
the CEOs of all service providers to express serious concerns
about the lack of provision of inpatient beds for the treatment
of children and adolescents with serious psychiatric disorders.
On receipt of responses, The Irish College plans to raise this
important issue with the Department of Health and Children and
the Mental Health Commission. This approach is being taken in
the best interests of providing safe and equitable child and adolescent
psychiatric services throughout the country.
Dr Colette Halpin,
Chairperson of the ICP said, "Psychiatrists regularly
find themselves in the situations where seriously ill children
requiring inpatient treatment are unable to access such treatment".
There are only two inpatient units at present in the country,
in the Eastern Regional Health Authority and Western Health Board
areas – and they confine their services to their own health board
areas. The children’s inpatient units at the Lucena Clinic, Orwell
Road, Dublin 6W and the adolescent unit at St John of God’s Hospital,
Stillorgan, Co. Dublin previously provided national services.
These units were closed in 1996 and 1999 respectively, and have
not been replaced.
Outside of the Eastern
Regional Health Authority and Western Health Board areas, Consultant
Child Psychiatrists occasionally access beds in private hospitals
in Dublin. This is usually on a goodwill basis with colleagues
in the private hospitals - not through any formal contractual
arrangements. Also, it is an informal service that is only available
for adolescents, with no service available for children under
13 years old. In many cases, children requiring hospitalisation
must be treated at home. These children are often seriously psychotic,
depressed and suicidal or anorexic. Dr Halpin went on to say
that, "Many of these children may be at risk of suicide,
and they may also be on high doses of medication, which need medical
and nursing supervision. These situations obviously pose very
serious risk and of concern to the psychiatrists involved"
The Working Group
on Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Services, Department of
Health & Children, reported in February 2001, recommending
the development of 5 inpatient units around the country – two
in the ERHA, one in Cork, one in Limerick and one in Galway. It
also recommended that Boards outside of the catchment areas for
these proposed units should enter into contractual arrangements
with the Health Boards, which do have units, in order to gain
access to beds.
The Irish College
posed the following questions to the service providers:
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Is there a project team planning
a unit in your Health Board? If so, what stage of development
is this project at?
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If your Health Board will
not have a unit of its own, have any negotiations taken place
between your Health Board and other Health Boards to access
beds for children in your area?
The ICP is also concerned
about the interim arrangements that have been made for treatment
of these children in the respective health board areas at this
time – and has also requested information on this from the service
providers.
Ends
Further information: Young Communications 01-6680530
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