Two-year wait for child psychologists

CHILDREN in need of psychological help are being told by the HSE that they can’t get a psychologist appointment for at least two years.

Parents are being told that psychology services in south Tipperary are in crisis due to “limited resources”.

These resources are being directed towards children under the age of five due to the HSE’s statutory responsibilities under the Disability Act, whereby all special needs children with suspected psychological needs must be assessed by the age of five.

The parents of one 10-year-old in the area said they were “shocked and horrified” at the waiting list. They say their child, who does not have special needs, had a number of traumatic experiences over the past year and is in urgent need of psychological help.

The parents told the Irish Examiner: “Two years is an unbelievable amount of time to have to wait when a child needs help. What are we supposed to do in the meantime? Hope that our child won’t get any worse? It seems crazy, and God knows how many families are in the same boat.”

The Mental Health Commission report, published earlier this week, said psychological and therapy services across the country are coming under “increasing strain” because resources have to be diverted to the under-fives. A spokesman for the HSE South said lack of staff was a big issue in south Tipperary, with three staff vacancies at present, including a senior position for autism unfilled since 2005.

The HSE’s national headquarters admitted yesterday that South Tipperary was particularly problematic as waiting lists elsewhere in the country vary from four weeks to over a year. They said 70% of Irish children wait less than 12 months to see a psychologist.

The Inspector of Mental Health Services this week said that south Tipperary had a chronic shortage of staff compared to the national average, which in itself is nowhere near best practice.

In south Tipperary there are just over 30,200 children under the age of 18. There is no consultant psychiatrist, no junior doctor specialising in child and adolescent mental health, just one senior and one basic grade psychologist.

There isn’t one occupational, speech and language, family or play therapist.

After necessary spending for the Disability Act, funds for the provision of psychological services in south Tipperary are being spent on a psychology service at a special needs school in Cashel, Scoil Chormaic, and on parenting classes for the families of children with autism.

A drop-in disability information service is also funded by the HSE.