Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that it is “not acceptable” that so many children are waiting for extended periods for the care that they need arising out of long waiting lists for the services of CAMHS.
In an interview with the RTÉ News at One, on RTÉ Radio 1, Mr Varadkar said that the service is coming under considerable pressure arising out of recruitment issues.
“It isn’t a matter of money. It is a matter of being able to recruit skilled staff. And that is an enormous challenge at the moment, not just here in Ireland but all around the world.
"Also it is a challenge of organising services better. There is a lot of variability from one CHO (Community Healthcare Organisation) from one region to another and that needs to be addressed too.”
The Taoiseach spoke of his intention to examine a proposal put forward by Fiona Coyle, chief executive of Mental Health Reform, who earlier this week said that an additional allocation of €25 million for community and voluntary organisations could make a real difference in terms of early intervention for children.
“We will certainly examine that in the context of the Budget that is coming up. The mental health budget in Ireland has increased dramatically in the last couple of years. It is well over a billion euros a year now.
"It has gone up by 25 or 30 per cent only in the past few years. But it is not just a matter of money. It is a matter of being able to find suitably skilled staff, hang on to them and also making sure that services are properly organised.
"There are a lot of inappropriate referrals for example and I know this as a doctor. Some places manage them better than others.”
The Taoiseach urged parents to use the CAMHS service whilst admitting that services are not “up to the level they should be at.”
“They are not up to scratch. But there is still loads of people who receive a service from CAMHS and that is of benefit to them.
"I meet people who are at the end of their tether because they are waiting so long. But I also meet people who have had those interventions and have got the service. Many not all of them are very complimentary of the help that they have got.”
Meanwhile, last Thursday the Mental Health Commission published individual reports on the child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in the nine community healthcare organisations of the HSE.
The reports indicated that waiting lists amounted to over 4,450 CAMHS patients, with all the consultants working part-time. There was no provision for out of hours services and children were left without their prescriptions until the consultant psychiatrist was on duty.
A number of psychiatrists and members of teams also said that they felt the service was unsafe due to shortages of cover.
