Joint Committee on Health to meet for consideration of the Mental Health Commission’s recent review of child and adolescent mental health services

The meeting, in 2 sessions, will hear from representatives from the Mental Health Commission and the Health Service Executive.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Seán Crowe said “The focus of the meeting tomorrow is on the Final Report into CAMHS which was published by the Mental Health Commission on July 26^th. We note that the findings have been accepted by the HSE.

The Final Report contains 49 recommendations for continued service improvement and we are aware, and welcome the fact that many of these recommendations are already being progressed as part of the implementation of Sharing the Vision and the Maskey Report.

We will look for in-depth information on the serious findings contained in the CAMHS Report which include significant gaps in the corporate and clinical level  governance, poor risk identification and management, a wide variation in scope and capacity of CAMHS’ teams, resulting in “a postcode lottery” for parents and young people. We will question the lack of clinical leadership at CHO and national level which often results in inconsistent care and failure to adhere to standards and guidelines and look for evidence that this Report will be used to provide reassurance to families involved that the required services necessary for children are being implemented and provided.”

The meeting in Committee Room 2 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.