Health
Children Wait Longer for Mental Help
Details have been released by DHSC Minister Lawrie Hooper
The average waiting time for the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service is between five and 11 months longer than for adults.
Details have been released by DHSC Minister Lawrie Hooper after a question from Tim Glover MHK.
Mr Hooper said: ‘Where there is evidence of a significant risk of harm or a need for psychiatric inpatient admission contact will be made on the day of referral. Reducing mental health waiting times and offering opportunity for early intervention, particularly for children and young people, remains a key strategic priority for Manx Care.’
However, the waiting times for CAMHS, which works with adolescents up to 18, said that the waiting time for a routine appointment for neuro-developmental disorders, such as ADHD and autism, is 12 months.
For an urgent appointment, the average waiting time is one week.
For CAMHS mental health assessments, the average wait time was six months, with a week for an urgent appointment.
Comparatively, the Community Wellbeing Service, which sees people over the age of 16, has a routine waiting time of 14 days, with urgent appointments within one working day.
For the Community Mental Health Service for Adults, the wait for routine appointment is two weeks and 72 hours for an urgent one. Older Persons Mental Health Service also has a wait time of two weeks, but urgent appointments are within 24 hours.
Manx Care
The new figures comes as Manx Care said that 148 young people have received psychological therapy treatment through its partnership with Minds Matter.
Funding was agreed to deliver psychological therapy programmes to 140 children and young people – however, 148 individuals have received treatment to date due to some people not needing as much one-to-one therapy as initially prescribed.
Ross Bailey, GM of Manx Care’s Integrated Mental Health Services, said: ‘I’m really pleased that more children and young people than we initially anticipated have been able to access the psychological therapy treatment provided by Minds Matter, with more people still to begin their programme of treatment.
‘What’s most been pleasing is the feedback that we’ve received from individuals who’ve used this pathway, highlighting just how supportive and effective their therapy has been, and the impact this has subsequently had on their everyday lives.’
