Children and teenagers in the north west are being forced to wait up to a year for assessments for Mental Health Services, according to new data.
Waiting list data from the HSE reveals that children in HSE CHO Area 1, which includes counties Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Monaghan and Cavan, continue to face waiting times of up to 15 months to undergo an initial medical assessment following GP referral.
The figures reveal that as of the end of October, there were 240 children across the local HSE region awaiting to access the service, nine of whom have been on the waiting list for over nine months now while a further eight children have been waiting over a year to receive an appointment.
The data was received by Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty, who branded the waiting times as ‘disgraceful’.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, or ‘CAMHS’, provides assessment and treatment for young people and their families who are experiencing mental health difficulties. Children must first receive a referral to CAMHS from their GP before they can access the vital supports.
Deputy Doherty said young people in the CHO Area 1 face longer wait times than others across the state.
He said: “Children in CHO Area 2 which takes in Galway, Roscommon and Mayo for example face a maximum wait time of six months, while those living in CHO Area 7 which includes parts of counties Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare have a maximum waiting time of nine months.
“Clearly, the current waiting list data for children’s mental health services shows that there is no equity in the system and what we are seeing is yet another example of postcode health care where patient outcomes are dependent on where in the state you live.
“These regional variations aside, this situation is having long-term unnecessary consequences on vulnerable children and it is affecting every aspect of their development.”
Deputy Doherty stated that he intends to continue to hold the government to account over this “appalling failure” in order to provide timely interventions to young people here in Donegal and this region.
Tags: