Bernard Durkan
Question:292. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which child psychological services require improvement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33837/16]
View answerTuesday, 8 November 2016
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Additional funding provided for mental health services in Budget 2017 accords with Programme for Government commitments to improve all aspects of mental health services, including Child and Adolescent Mental Health services. The allocation for mental health in 2017 will total around €851 million, thereby giving an increase of €24.7 million, or approximately 3%, over 2016.
In line with the recommendations of A Vision for Change, the HSE continues to prioritise the mental health needs of those under age 18 by developing services in line with annual HSE National Service Plans. Child and Adolescent Mental Health services fall within the secondary and tertiary levels of specialist care. A young person, therefore, must have a moderate to severe mental illness in order to access such specialist services, based on professional assessed need. The publication of a new Standard Operating Procedures in 2015 has provided greater clarity and consistency on how specialist mental health service for children are delivered nationally. It is important to note that, despite increasing demands overall on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health system, individual cases assessed as urgent receive priority.
The HSE is, for example, improving collaboration between Mental Health and Primary Care in the key areas of Preventative, Early Intervention and Counselling services for young people. In the vast majority of cases, young people will be assessed and treated at Primary Care level, in Social Care or Disability services, without needing specialist clinical input. The latter is only one element of an overall care approach provided to young people to promote positive mental health and Recovery, as appropriate. In the context of expanding services, the HSE is pursuing various initiatives to address widely recognised difficulties in the recruitment and retention of healthcare staff, including child psychologists.
While there were significant reductions in the length of waiting times for HSE Primary Care Psychology services in 2015, there was also an increased demand for treatment. To address this, significant funding in 2017 will resource improved recruitment of additional psychologists, and also fund rapid access to better evidence-based stepped care interventions. The provision of improved integrated services should ensure that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are able to operate at the specialist mental health service level intended.
The Deputy may rest assured that the Department of Health, in conjunction with the HSE, will continue to closely monitor planned service improvements for this key care area.