442 children waiting for psychology services in Louth

Sinn Féin TD Gerry Adams, has criticized the HSE for its failure to significantly reduce waiting times for children who need Psychology services.  

Deputy Adams said: 

“My constituency office regularly deals with parents of children who need professional interventions due to a stress or trauma or mental health difficulties.  

“The response to my parliamentary question indicates that in Louth across Primary Care Psychology, CAMHS and the Disability sector there are 442 children waiting to be seen.  

“121 of these children have been waiting over 15 months. That is a disgraceful wait for a child in need.  Any delay in treatment can have a detrimental effect on that child’s outcome.  

“Those delivering this service are doing their very best in stressful situations. I praise their efforts.  

“I have spoken before about the absence of proper accommodation for mental health, particularly in Dundalk, where only some services can be delivered from the dilapidated and unsuitable premises at Ladywell and I again ask the Minister of State for Mental Health Jim Daly, to visit this facility. 

“Across the State the failure of the Government to live up to the targets set in A Vision for Change is abundantly clear. But the fact remains that the Government is simply not resourcing mental health satisfactorily in Louth. 

“At the end of October 2018 there were 2,250 children and young people waiting to access CAMHS services, 286 of these were waiting over a year to access their first appointment; 105 of these young people had been waiting in excess of 18 months.

“In North Louth the CAMHS staffing level is only 33.8% of that advocated in A Vision for Change. In south Louth the figure is just 57.8%

“A service cannot operate fully without staff. The government must introduce measures to deal with understaffing and waiting lists", Deputy Adams concluded.