Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 February 2023
417. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health if he, the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, his Department or the HSE asked the Mental Health Commission to delay the publishing of its interim report into the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS; if so, the reason for doing so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5870/23]
View answerThe Mental Health Commission, in notifying me and the Department of its intention to publish the Interim Report, provided 10 working days to consider the report. This is the normal advance notification accorded to the Department for any of the Commission’s reports. As this period of time would have resulted in publication of the report on a Friday, the Department requested that the report be held to the following Monday, to ensure that patients and their families had access to the helpline set up by the HSE, and that they would be able to contact their GPs or relevant CAMHS teams should they have any concerns. This slight delay was therefore taken in the best interest of service users and their families, and with the full support of the Commission and the HSE.
As I have indicated on several occasions recently, I supported the Commission in carrying out their annual thematic report into CAMHS, including the offer of any additional resources required for this. I welcome the Mental Health Commission’s Interim Report, and I especially welcome the focus around service quality and patient safety. I await both the Commission’s Final Report on CAMHS and the completion of the audits now underway by the HSE arising from the Maskey report. Together, these reports will provide robust information to support the improvement of crucial services for children and adolescents across the country experiencing mental health difficulties. The HSE has confirmed to the Department of Health that the issues raised in the Mental Health Commission’s Interim Report are being proactively acted on at national level, to mitigate against risk throughout the system as a whole, and beyond the CHOs reviewed to date.
