AQW 8874/16-21
Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford
Tabled Date: 08/12/2016
Answered On Date: 21/12/2016
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister of Health for an update on waiting times for mental health services provision in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust.
Answer:
Mental health is one of my key priorities. I am committed to moving towards parity of esteem for mental health, as well as continuing to reform and improve services. Table 1, overleaf, details waiting times for adult mental health service provision in the South Eastern Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust at 30th October 2016. Table 1 Waiting time (weeks) | Total | 0 - 3 | >3 - 6 | >6 | | 320 | 179 | 40 | 539 |
Source: Health and Social Care based on monthly returns received from the HSC Trusts Please note that the South Eastern HSC Trust Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service provision is managed by and reported under the Belfast HSC Trust. I am firmly of the view that the current waiting lists are unacceptably long. However, unless we tackle the root causes this will remain the case, as we have a 20th century model delivering services for a 21st century population. This is having an increasingly negative impact on the quality and experience of care. The long term solution is the transformation of our health and social care system as outlined in Delivering Together. It is only in transforming the health and social care system and by implementing new models of care that we will be able to alleviate the pressures on our health and social care services, sustain improvements in waiting times and deliver better outcomes for patients. It is important to recognise HSC staff who notwithstanding the structural issues, continue to work incredibly hard and on average deliver 9,000 outpatient appointments, 2,600 inpatient/day case procedures and 31,000 diagnostic tests per week.
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