AQW 26208/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 23/11/2021
Answered On Date: 06/01/2022
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health for an update on the provision of mental health services for children in Northern Ireland; and how many children who are self-harming are on a waiting list for intervention and support.

Answer:

Mental health services for children and young people are provided in each Trust area through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). It is widely accepted that in recent years, services have come under increasing pressure as a result of increased demand and resource constraints. These challenges have been further exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response, my Department has implemented a number of measures to increase capacity and improve overall performance across CAMHS, including additional investment to tackle waiting lists and ongoing work to establish a Managed Care Network, which will enable clinical expertise to be shared across the region. It is anticipated that the Managed Care Network will be fully operation by early 2022.

While some good progress has been made, it is anticipated that longer-term improvement in CAMHS will be achieved through implementation of the new Mental Health Strategy 2021-31, which includes among other priorities, a commitment to increase CAMHS funding to 10% of the overall mental health budget.

The number of children waiting for a CAMHS appointment is not categorised, and in that context, the number of children who are self-harming and on a waiting list for intervention and support is not available.