Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Ireland are in a state of ‘disarray’ due to staff shortages, according to Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty.
The Sinn Féin TD today called on the government to take urgent action to ensure that CAMHS services are properly resourced for children in desperate need of care.
Speaking in the Dáil, Doherty pointed out that there are currently in the region of 2,560 children and young adults on CAMHS waiting lists. Almost 300 of those children and young people are waiting over a year to be seen.
Doherty slammed the figures as ‘totally unacceptable’ and criticised failures in recruitment which is needed to address the problem.
In the CHO 1 area, which covers Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan and the North West – there are ten vacant posts in CAMHS and there are a total of 240 young people waiting to be seen.
“Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) across the State are in a state of disarray. All of us know parents and families who are struggling to access appropriate care for their children and we are all aware of inadequate staffing levels in CAMHS services that make it impossible to meet the demand for care,” Doherty said.
He added: “Early intervention is crucial when it comes to dealing with mental health issues, but early intervention cannot happen if there are extensive waiting lists and a sheer lack of capacity in the system.”
“CAMHS services are not meeting the needs of an entire cohort of children and young people who are often in very desperate need of immediate care and that is due primarily because of the failure to recruit the staff needed to fully operate CAMHS teams across the State.”
Deputy Doherty called for clarity on government initiatives to increase service capacity after the issue was raised last year.
He said: “During Leaders’ Questions in late November, in response to another question by me on this issue the Taoiseach accepted that CAMHS services are not up to scratch in many areas and said that he would ‘be looking for a report on a comparison between resources, staffing and outcomes’ in respect of CAMHS services.
“I want to know if that report has been compiled, what it contains and whether it will be published, because we need to see real action being taken to ensure that CAMHS services are properly resourced.”