Holly Cairns
Question:589. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health to provide his response to a campaign concerning Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (details supplied). [32231/23]
View answerTuesday, 4 July 2023
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The Government remains committed to the development of all aspects of mental health services nationally, including those for children and young people. The total allocation for mental health services in 2023 is a record at over €1.2 billion. Around €137 million is provided to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) annually. In addition, over €80 million was provided to community-based mental health organisations last year, with a significant proportion of this dedicated to supporting child and young people.
Evidence shows that only 2% of children and young people need the support of the specialist CAMHS multidisciplinary teams. Access is on basis of prioritised clinical assessment and all referrals to CAMHS are assessed by a multidisciplinary team. Urgent cases are prioritised. CAMHS waiting lists can fluctuate over time, due to a variety of operational pressures, including capacities in other parts of the system where young people may not receive early intervention and thus their needs escalate necessitating referrals to CAMHS. Between 2020 and 2021, referral rates into CAMHS increased by 33%, while the number of new cases seen increased by 21% in that same period.
All aspects of CAMHS are being developed under the HSE Service Plan 2023, including a new post of Youth Mental Health Lead at Assistant National Director level, and a new Clinical Lead for Youth Mental Health. Recruitment is underway. A key objective is to improve access and address CAMHS waiting lists, in light of increasing demand and case complexity. This includes various measures such as better links with Primary Care or Disability Services, and greater use of e-mental health responses. In collaboration with local CAMHS services, a waiting list initiative is underway in six CHO areas, specifically targeting areas where children and young people have waited longer than nine months.
I await the outcomes of all audits underway on CAMHS nationally, including the final report of the independent review currently underway by the Mental Health Commission on CAMHS. These audits will help inform any next steps necessary to improve CAMHS. In addition, I recently completed a series of high-level roundtables bringing together the Department of Health, HSE, and other key stakeholders in youth mental health to drive improvement in CAMHS with a focus on executive leadership, clinical expertise and service provision.
The national waiting list initiative in Primary Care Child Psychology Services saw 3,507 children or young people removed from this wait list by the end of December 2022. This initiative is continuing in 2023.
I am aware of the recent campaign referred to by the Deputy. I will certainly bear this in mind, along with the HSE, in the context of progressing several on-going or planned initiatives to improve CAMHS over this year and beyond.