Finding staff among ‘challenges’ for local mental health service

Understaffing, difficulty recruiting staff, limited or no access to services for children with autism, and no service for children with intellectual disabilities are just some of the “challenges” outlined in a recently published report by the Mental Health Commission (MHC) on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Westmeath and neighbouring counties.

The report on the CAMHS in Community Healthcare Organisation 8 (CHO 8), which includes the services in Westmeath, Meath, Longford, Offaly, Laois and Louth, found that while there are “highly skilled staff who offer a wide range of interventions”, there are 13 challenges that need to be addressed “across all teams” in the region.

These challenges included:

• “low numbers of team members in face of increasing population”,

• “limited ability to recruit staff”,

• “no CAMHS liaison service to paediatric units in major hospitals”,

• “limited or no access to services for children and adolescents with autism”,

• “no dedicated CAMHS service for children and adolescents with intellectual disability and moderate to severe mental illness”.

The authors of the report also found that there is no specialist eating disorder team and that there is “no access to day hospitals or day programmes, which also results in clinicians holding risks at community level”.

When it came to waiting times to access services, the MHC found that local CAMHS had “difficulties in working with other agencies, such as Community Disability Network Teams (CDNTs) and Primary Care”.

“Both of these agencies were short staffed and had long waiting lists; one CDNT had a waiting time of up to five years and there was a waiting time of one year for Primary Care.

Children with autism and other complex needs were then often referred to CAMHS without meeting the criteria for moderate to severe mental illness.”

According to the report, in March of this year, there were 27 children waiting to access services in the Longford, north Westmeath region, while in south Westmeath there were 15.

Praise for staff

When it came to getting feedback from service users and their parents, the CMH found that “most young people and their families praised individual staff members and felt that their needs had been met during their time in CAMHS”.

“However, there were complaints about the length of waiting times for CAMHS, CDNTs, and primary care.

They spoke about moving from one waiting list to another, and of having to seek re-referrals from GPs to CAMHS.

There was confusion about the criteria for acceptance by CAMHS and immense worry about deterioration of their child’s mental health while on waiting lists.”

The CAMHS in CHO 8 received €13.2 million in state funding last year, which amounts to just over €76 per child, compared to the national per capita average of €64.

Speaking recently, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar admitted that CAMHS are not to the level they should be at.

“They are not up to scratch. But there is still loads of people who receive a service from CAMHS and that is of benefit to them.

“I meet people who are at the end of their tether because they are waiting so long. But I also meet people who have had those interventions and have got the service.

“Many, though not all of them, are very complimentary of the help that they have got.”

Read next: Update on MRI Scanner at MRH Mullingar