TDs vow to fight for the future of CAMHS
SLIGO Leitrim TDs Marc Mac Sharry and Martin Kenny have vowed to keep fighting to secure the future of CAMHS in Sligo.
Fianna Fáil TD Mac Sharry says that despite the fact that demand for mental health services have increased over the past 6 years, Government is utterly failing to implement the recommendations of A Vision for Change.
The Deputy’s comments follow news that local HSE Management have formally written to national management to highlight the severe risk posed by a lack of resources for children mental health services in Sligo Leitrim and that they do not have the capacity to deal with the demand.
“The CAMHS service is an essential community scheme, which children, teenagers and their parents rely on in the North West. People’s right to the highest attainable standard of mental health and their right to access to good quality care, must be protected,” Mac Sharry said.
“Successive Ministers have promised to prioritise mental health, but the reality of the situation has been exposed. The situation has deteriorated to the point that the clinical lead for the service left their post in early March and a replacement was secured for only 20 hours a week. This is a scandalous situation, which is causing untold frustration and distress to the patients themselves and their families.
“How the Government can expect to deliver the progress envisioned in its own Vision for Change while it fails to provide vital resources is beyond me. The insufficiency of current provision could potentially have grave consequences. The current gaps in the system must be urgently addressed so that the CAMHS service can be effectively delivered.
“As an emergency measure to deal with the critical situation in Sligo, the Minister must use the National Treatment Purchase Fund to urgently treat children in Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and West Cavan. This week I have requested an urgent update from Ministers Harris and Mc Entee by tabling a number of Parliamentary Questions. I urge them both to tackle this issue as a matter of priority,” concluded Deputy MacSharry.
Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny says he has been in contact with Minister Helen McEntee about the current situation in Sligo.
Both Kenny and Mac Sharry were present at last week’s protest at Markievicz House, along with Deputy Eamon Schanlon.
“I have protested with and listened to the desperation of parents and friends of children and young people awaiting assessment or treatment from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Sligo, Leitrim and surrounding areas,” Deputy Kenny said.
“The situation is desperate and the strain under which these people are living is unacceptable. Today, I appealed to Minister Helen McEntee to respond to the reality of this crisis.
“It is shocking to hear that the Executive in the North West feels it necessary to write to the national director of mental health services to draw attention to the risk posed by a lack of resources and to admit that those in the local service now feel that it does not have the capacity to deal with the demand.
“Meanwhile, there are children who have not been assessed, and so are not receiving treatment. Delays like this exacerbate some conditions and will result in more strain on carers and ultimately on the services.”