€40m needed to rectify Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service staff shortages

The staffing deficit in the specialist teams that are treating children who have mental health difficulties is so great that €40m would be required to bring them to the levels recommended by the Government’s national mental health policy.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) teams are operating at 56% of levels recommended in ‘A Vision for Change’ (VFC), the blueprint for mental health reform, which is currently being “refreshed”.