A former Clare CAMHS worker believes “time is of the essence” for the HSE to radically reform its mental health services.
A new report published by the Mental Health Commission has found a lack of governance in some areas, a failure to manage risk and a failure to fund and recruit key staff within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
The 140-page report, which has been published this week, covers 2022 and 2023 to date and details a number of issues found in the state’s mental health services.
Chief among these are long waiting lists, a non-existent IT system to monitor patient records, a lack of capacity to provide appropriate therapeutic interventions, “lost” cases and a lack of emergency and out-of-hours services.
In addition, the report states that CAMHS cannot provide assurance to parents or guardians that their children have access to a safe, effective and evidence-based service.
A recent internal staff survey of the mental health service in this county revealed 94% of workers felt the Clare CAMHS clinical environment isn’t suitable for supporting young people.
Elaine Kingston, who previously worked with Clare CAMHS and contributed to the survey, says the HSE must heed the recommendations of the Mental Health Commission’s report for the good of the service.
It has also been revealed that the average wait time between referrals and assessment for children and adolescents accessing mental health services in this county is 72 days.
However, CAMHS Mid West has the lowest wait time for young people referred for an assessment relating to eating disorders, and shorter-than-average wait times for all of the other main reasons for referral to CAMHS such as anxiety, depression and ADHD.
Niamh Wallace, who is the Acting Chief Officer with HSE Mid West Community Healthcare, is confident services are being delivered in the “best way possible”.
