Year-on-year drops in kids mental health appointments
Waterford has experienced year-on-year drops in children's mental health appointments
The number of child and adolescent mental health appointments offered by CAMHS has dropped by 30 per cent since 2021, with nearly 20 per cent of all appointments being cancelled or going unattended.
Since January 2021, a total of 17,276 appointments were offered to children and adolescents across Waterford with just over 14,000 of those appointments being attended. CAMHS Waterford, which is based in the Ferrybank Primary Care Centre in Waterford City, has a catchment area of the entirety of Waterford City and County.
Data released to Waterford News & Star via the Freedom of Information Act shows that since 2021, when 5,605 appointments were offered to children and adolescents in need of mental health support, the number of appointments has steadily decreased year-on-year. A reduced, 4,701 appointments were offered in 2022 before that figure fell to 3,928 in 2023.
During this period of declining appointment offerings, CAMHS Waterford was experiencing reduced staff numbers, as the service was down to two consultants "all through 2023 until a new consultant started this summer".
Until September 2024, the service had offered 3,042 appointments 'year-to-date', broadly similar to the 2,991 appointments offered in the same period in 2023.
The service in Waterford typically has between 11-14 clinic staff members, those capable of taking mental health appointments, depending on circumstantial factors such as maternity and sick leave. Presently there are 14 such clinical staff members in the service in Waterford, including three Child and Adolescent Consultants: Dr. Albert Okoye, Dr. Mario Loureiro, Dr. Andreea Gherasim.
CAMHS in Waterford is also staffed by one Senior Housing Officer, three Psychologists, three Clinical Nurse Specialists, two Social Workers and an Occupational Therapist.
The Waterford News & Star has contacted the HSE and CAMHS for comment.
The most recent review of the CAMHS service by the Mental Health Commission in 2023 found that the average waiting lists for referrals stretched from two months to six months in the south east, depending on the reason for the referral.
The area covering Waterford, CHO 5, had an average waiting time of 120 days from referral to assessment date. The report at the time described the CAMHS teams in the south east as "sparsely staffed".
The report further showed that the overall waiting lists for the nine subdivisions in Ireland amounted to over 4,450 CAMHS patients.
The government created an allocation of an additional €3 million to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services specifically to address waiting lists.
