Call to invest in psychologists as 10,000 on waiting list

The Psychological Society of Ireland said each psychologist would, on average, be able to see 40 new clients per year. Picture: Pexels

There are more than 10,000 people on a primary care waiting list to see a psychologist, according to a pre-budget submission.

The Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) said the appointment of 276 additional psychologists, at a cost of €16m, would clear the backlog.

It said this investment would provide for more than 11,000 additional appointments, helping 5,200 children and 5,200 adults.

In addition, the PSI is looking for extra investment of €3.6m to pay for an additional psychologist in every HSE School Age Disability Team and an extra spend of €2.5m for the same in every HSE Early Intervention Team.

“While national figures are not currently available, estimated waiting time is more than two years and, in some parts of the country, it is longer,” the submission said.

It said early intervention meant shorter waiting times, less reliance on acute services, and less distress for families.

PSI president Mark Smyth said: “On the day that the PSI Pre-Budget 2021 submission was finalised it was heartening to hear An Taoiseach Micheál Martin acknowledge the need for additional funding to address the mental health impact that Covid-19 is having on our nation."

This funding is needed now, without delay. People are suffering, they need support and they need it immediately.

According to the PSI Pre-Budget 2021 Submission, as of last January, numbers on waiting lists for primary care appointments to see a psychologist “exceeded the 10,000 mark”.

It said the funding of 138 additional psychologists in primary care centres for children and  138 for adults would allow for “over 11,000 additional appointments to help tackle the backlog”.

It said each psychologist would, on average, be able to see 40 new clients per year.

It said the PSI was committed to the Government’s Sláintecare strategy and supportive of the primacy of providing accessible and timely care in the community.

It said funding of additional primary care psychology posts would assist in creating a responsive frontline mental health service, reduce waiting lists for primary intervention, and alleviate pressures on specialist services.

The submission also highlighted the free counselling work trainee psychologists are doing and called for the establishment of a €720,000 fund for trainee educational psychologists and a €500,000 fund for trainee counselling psychologists.

It said trainee counselling psychologists were collectively providing almost 5,000 hours free therapy per year, while educational psychologists were providing more than 2,000 days of free counselling per year.

Last week, Mental Health Reform, a coalition of 75 organisations, called on the Government to invest additional funding of €80m into mental health services in Budget 2021.