One in 10 Using or Waiting for CAMHS

An 83% increase in demand for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service has resulted in 1/10 of all four to 17-year-olds being either in receipt of, or awaiting treatment.

The current CAMHS caseload stands at 1,370, with very few of those individuals being under the age of 4.

Manx Care, which is now responsible for delivery the service, has admitted these figures are ‘significantly higher than comparative figures in the UK, and there are a number of factors that give rise to this difference’.

The provider is laying the blame at the face that the island doesn’t have a multi-agency strategy for dealing with mental health and emotional wellbeing in children from an early age and the impact of the pandemic.

In an attempt to resolve this, it is working to create a multi-agency approach working with departments and agency across the gov.

As well as this, Manx Care is working in partnership with Kooth PLC, a digital mental health and wellbeing company working to provide a welcoming space for digital mental health care.

Ross Bailey, Head of Integrated Mental Health Services, said: ‘At the moment, we’re establishing a comprehensive picture of the current system of services for children and young people’s mental health across the Isle of Man, and implementing the Thrive Framework where possible.

‘The Isle of Man does not currently have a national strategy for this, and so we’re contributing to the development and implementation of a new Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy, founded upon the principles of integration, early intervention and recovery, which is really important for the reduction of waiting lists and making sure people get the right help at the right time.’