THERE has been a 33% hike in the number of young Clare people waiting for appointments from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) over the last three years, according to newly published HSE figures.
The health authority was asked at the HSE West Forum by Councillor Cillian Murphy to provide a breakdown of the number of young Clare people awaiting appointments with CAMHS for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The Fianna Fáil Councillor was told that the total number of Clare people waiting for this service increased from 61 at the end of 2019 to 82 at the end of 2021.
At the end of 2019, 43 children and adolescents were waiting up to three months; 14 were waiting from three to six months; three were waiting six to nine months and one was waiting nine to 12 months.
The numbers waiting at the end of 2020 increased to 74 with 31 waiting up to three months; ten were waiting three to six months; seven were waiting six to nine months; eight were waiting nine to 12 months; 14 were on the waiting list for between 12 and 15 months and four were waiting between 15 and 18 months.
A year later the numbers waiting continued to increase with 33 waiting up to three months; 19 waiting three to six months; 14 waiting six to nine months; six waiting nine to 12 months; two waiting 15 to 18 months; five waiting 18 to 21 months and three waiting 21 to 24 months.
Councillor Seamus Morris also tabled a motion requesting a breakdown of the numbers of young people in the Mid-West who are currently awaiting appointments with CAMHS.
He was informed 94 young people in the region were waiting for more than 12 months, while there are 376 child and adolescents in total waiting for this service in the Mid-West at the end of January.
This includes 47 Clare children and adolescents in Clare West and 23 in Clare East.
In accordance with the HSE CAMHS Operational Guideline (2019), Mid-West Community Healthcare chief officer, Maria Bridgeman outlined CAMHS offers assessment and treatment to
children and young people with moderate to severe mental health difficulties up to their 18th birthday.
Most referrals come either directly from the family GP but referrals are also accepted from senior clinicians/practitioners in other disciplines/services in collaboration with the GP as per the CAMHS Operational Guideline.
In general, all referrals of children and young people to CAMHS are reviewed by the relevant catchment team to determine if the referral is appropriate to CAMHS.
If a referral meets the criteria, the team will prioritise the referral according to the acuity of the presentation outlined in the referral and any other collateral information provided.
Referrals are prioritised according to acuity of the presenting difficulties, which encompasses the severity of the presenting difficulties, the associated mental health risks and the risk of harm.
“While a child may be wait listed and assigned a level of priority based on the above, subsequent referrals received, or children and young people already on the waiting list, may be deemed more urgent and so will usually be offered an appointment sooner than others on the basis of this prioritisation,” said Ms Bridgeman.
“Waiting lists are reviewed regularly and validated by each team so as to ensure that those waiting longer are kept under consideration when allocating cases. A service wide Waiting List Validation exercise was carried out in November 2021.
“If there is a significant deterioration in the mental state of the young person waiting that results in an acute mental health presentation, an urgent appointment maybe sought through the GP. This service is available from Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5pm.
“An application under the HSE Waiting List Initiative was submitted through the Head of Service, Mental Health Service, Mid-West Community Healthcare in December 2021 to secure additional targeted resources to address the existing CAMHS waiting list. We await an outcome from HSE nationally. The service continues to monitor,” she stated.
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.