THE rapid expansion of the demand for drug treatment and childcare services is putting a considerable strain on the Eastern Health Board, according to its new chairwoman, Ms Roisin Shortall TD. "It also affects our ability to do long term planning," she said.
"Drug treatment places have more than trebled to 2,600 in the past two years," Ms Shortall said yesterday, "but we still need to focus on the figures. There are about 7,000 injecting heroin addicts in the EHB area and an unknown, but high, number of young people smoking heroin.
"The scale of the problem has hugely increased in the past three years. It is every parent's nightmare that their children will get involved in drugs, and now there is a good chance they will."
Ms Shortall yesterday received the 1995 annual report of the board from its chief executive officer, Mr Kieran Hickey. He has recently resigned to work with the Office of Health Gain, and has been replaced by Mr P. J. Fitzgerald, programme manager for community care.
She said the development of services for drug misusers would, be helped by the appointment of a new programme manager specifically for drug services and two new area operations managers.
While there were 511 people on the waiting list for treatment in September 1995, the plan for 1996 eliminated this waiting list and provided for the treatment of a further 500, she said. The AIDS and drug treatment services cost just over £4.5 million in 1995.
There were 2,158 notifications of suspected child abuse in the Eastern Health Board area in 1995. This compares with 1,754 in 1994.
While sexual abuse was the highest individual category of child abuse reported, with 861 cases referred, it was outnumbered by the combined figures for physical abuse and neglect, at 1,235.
The enactment of the majority of the sections of the Child Care Act in 1995 brought increased responsibilities to the board and greater demands on its resources, according to Mr Hickey. New services were established at a total cost of £3.7 million. This included the appointment of two directors of childcare and family support and 41 other staff.
The annual report also reflects the change in adoption practices. While only seven babies were placed for adoption in 1995, there were 74 applications for inter country adopt ions. There were 52 the previous year.