Over 680 children waiting longer than a year for mental health services
Labour TD Sean Sherlock has said: 'We must cut through the red tape and prioritise clinical presence.' Picture: PA
There are 682 children waiting longer than a year for mental health services, as demand grows and the HSE grapples with the fall-out from the Maskey Report.
Across Cork and Kerry, the numbers waiting for prolonged periods of time for an appointment have almost doubled since last September, from 178 to 343.
Despite concerns raised about a lack of expertise in the review of the South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs), a key psychiatrist role continues to be shared between two consultants.
A clinical lead for the North Kerry Lookback Review has also not yet been appointed, a spokeswoman for Cork/Kerry Community Healthcare said.
This was announced in January after an audit identified potential concerns in 16 of 50 files reviewed there.
Nationally, recruitment continues for an assistant national director of Child and Youth Mental Health to take charge of under-pressure services.
The waiting lists, released to Labour TD Sean Sherlock, show 4,434 children waiting nationally, up from 4,127 in September.
The number of those waiting longer than a year increased from 521 to 682 in that time.
“We need to understand why there is a large increase of those awaiting for more than 12 months, especially in the Cork and Kerry areas,” Mr Sherlock said.
"We must cut through the red tape and prioritise clinical presence.”
Labour health spokesperson Duncan Smith said the numbers paint “a bleak picture”.
"Families and GPs are overladen with form filling and bureaucracy to get even a referral," he said.
Cork/Kerry has seen a “recent significant increase” in new referrals, the health service spokeswoman said, including 267 last month compared to 219 in September.
The HSE is now being forced to look abroad for staff to address the shortages.
The equivalent of 17.7 full-time roles are unfilled in nursing, psychology, psychiatry, occupational therapy, and social work in this region.
Recruitment also continues for a full-time Camhs consultant for south Kerry.
The health service spokeswoman added: “To address this, cover is currently provided by two consultants, both covering part of the week."
One consultant is in Kerry for a week every two months and offers remote appointments otherwise, while the second consultant is in Cork.
A third consultant will work remotely three days weekly from next month. A separate ADHD clinic for Kerry is also run remotely.
"Feedback from families about these appointments has been very positive,” she said.
“Telemedicine clinics for north Cork are being developed. Furthermore, consultant-led clinics are ongoing in north Cork at weekends to support access to assessment and supports.”
Nationally the HSE held interviews this month for the assistant national director, a position called for by Mental Health Reform.
Some four applicants were interviewed and the HSE expects to offer the job “in the coming days”.
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