AQW 30395/17-22


Mr Peter Weir
Democratic Unionist Party
Strangford


Tabled Date: 01/03/2022
Answered On Date: 25/03/2022
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Health what action is being taken to cut waiting times for referrals for children for mental health services.


Answer:
It is widely recognised that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) has faced significant pressures in recent years as a result of increased demand for services and resource constraints. These issues have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has continued to negatively impact young people’s health and wellbeing.
My Department continues to work collaboratively with the Health and Social Care Board and the HSC Trusts to manage the pressures on CAMHS and to put in place measures to increase capacity and improve performance. This includes a formal review of waiting lists on a weekly basis, ongoing recruitment campaigns, providing initial assessments via telephone, zoom or face to face, and exploring greater involvement of the community and voluntary sector.
In 2021, an extra £500k was agreed to provide additional support to CAMHS to increase specialist staff across all Trusts and to implement new initiatives to support young people who are affected by eating disorders.
As well as additional financial support, a number of structural improvements have also recently been implemented across CAMHS to aid greater collaboration between services providers. For example, work is currently underway to establish a Managed Care Network (MCN) for acute CAMHS. When fully implemented, the MCN will enable clinical expertise to be shared across the region, particularly in response to children and young people in crisis, and ensure consistency of treatment and care. It is anticipated that the MCN will be well placed to drive progress in CAMHS service development, planning and strategic priorities for the future.
While I anticipate the actions currently being taken will help to address existing pressures within services, the new Mental Health Strategy, which I launched last year, includes a number of key strategic actions to achieve longer term improvements in CAMHS, including increasing investment in CAMHS to 10% of the overall mental health budget.