‘Phantom’ referrals causing delays to mental health care
SINN Féin TD Martin Kenny has said that children in Sligo, Leitrim and south Donegal deserve better mental health services and should not have to wait to access them.
He was speaking ahead of legislation being brought forward by Sinn Féin which seeks to regulate CAMHS under the Mental Health Act, which was debated in the Dáil on Tuesday.
Deputy Kenny said, “There were almost 300 children who were waiting to be seen by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) last August. CHO 1 is the HSE area covering the majority of Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal.
“Of the 294 children awaiting assessment in CHO 1,122 of these children were waiting at least twelve weeks for their first assessment with CAMHS.
“Children across Sligo, Leitrim and south Donegal deserve better mental health services. They should not have to wait three months to access mental health services, especially children in crisis.
“I am aware of a new and even more disturbing practice of referring a child in crisis from CAMHS to another HSE team, which often has not been established, or in fact does not exist.
“I have dealt with cases recently where a child has been referred from CAMHS to an intellectual disability and mental health team which has not yet been established. When I asked the HSE to allow this childs’ care to transfer to a team that had been established in a neighbouring CHO area, this was refused.
“Similarly, I have also had cases of children who are in crisis being referred to as a ‘post-diagnostic team’. While awaiting the appointment both the parent of the child and I tried to contact the team, to be told such a team did not exist. This type of phantom referring cannot continue, it only serves to remove children who are desperately in need from waiting lists.
“The Mental Health Commission’s report into CAMHS highlighted a number of issues with CAMHS, including children lost to follow up, lack of monitoring of psychiatric medicines, unacceptable waiting times for high risk referrals and many more operational issues.
“In the Dáil, my Sinn Féin colleague and our spokesperson on Mental Health, Mark Ward TD, will debate a bill to regulate children’s mental health services. His bill has been informed by the recommendations made by the Mental Health Commission in their report on CAMHS.
“If this legislation is supported and passed, it will finally give the Commission the statutory powers to oversee and implement the remainder of their 49 recommendations. This will drive improvements, help tackle waiting lists, and bring an end to the unacceptable postcode lottery of care.
“Children with a dual diagnosis of mental ill-health and an intellectual disability are falling through the cracks as are neurodiverse
their voices need to be heard.
“It's all about the frustrations farmers are experiencing, we want to bring that to the attention of our county councillors attending that meeting.
“It's all about the frustrations and challenges farmers are experiencing. I imagine people are well aware of all the issues and the serious problems we face.
“My hope is they will hear our calls and let the political authorities know what is happening in farming in this country. We would hope the councillors would hear our calls and make political representations at local and national level to highlight our concerns and frustrations at this time,” Mr O'Dowd stated. children. Parents, children and stakeholders have been highlighting the crisis in children’s mental health which has gotten worse under this Government.
“Sinn Féin have engaged with families and stakeholders. We have listened to their experiences. We are taking them seriously. Unfortunately, this Minister has dragged her feet in the matter.
“Passing this legislation is the first step in tackling the crisis in children’s mental health and will lay the foundation to reduce waiting lists.
“This cannot be kicked down the road. Children across Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and indeed the wider northwest cannot wait any longer for the regulation of CAMHS,” he said.