Seán Haughey
Question:132. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a report on primary care psychology waiting list initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37476/22]
View answerTuesday, 12 July 2022
Questions (132)
Written answers
The Primary Care Psychology Waiting List Initiative was implemented to target a reduction in the number of children and young people under the age of 18 who are waiting more than 12 months to access primary care psychology services. The initiative consists of work being implemented across the CHOs to tackle this waiting list and includes validation exercises, increased tele-screening and tele-consults, and increased provision of individual and group workshops as appropriate.
Funding of €4m was provided in 2021, while funding of €5.5m has been allocated in 2022 under the Waiting list Action plan.
Significant progress has already been made since the commencement of this initiative, as the number of clients waiting longer than 12 months has fallen from 5,298 in March 2021 (the reference point for the initiative) to 3,963 in April 2022, a reduction of 1,335 or 25%.
More specifically, an additional 1,600 young people either accessed treatment or were removed from the waiting list between August and December 2021 as a result of the initiative.
Data for 2022 shows that the number of clients aged 18 or under waiting over 12 Months to access primary care psychology services fell from 4,431 in January to 3,963 in April. This represents a reduction of 468 (11%) to date in 2022.
As of May 2022, the HSE reports that there is a total of 294 WTE directly employed HSE Primary Care Psychology staff.
As part of the Primary Care Psychology waiting list initiative, the HSE has targeted the recruitment of staff psychologists, clinical psychologists, psychology assistants and administrative support staff, with campaigns underway across all of the CHOs.