Recruitment into the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) is “very difficult at this time” with a number of “inadequately resourced” teams affecting the quality of care provided to patients, the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland has said.
On Tuesday, the college launched a model of governance and management structures for Camhs, which provide mental health treatment services for children and young adults with moderate to severe mental illness.
The service has been involved in significant controversy in recent years, with reports finding some children were harmed while under the care of certain services due to inappropriate prescribing, as well as concerns lengthy waiting lists are resulting in significant delays in the provision of vital care.
Under the proposed reforms, each Camhs team would be led by a specialist consultant, and there should be “specialist Camhs-specific training to ensure optimal standards of care”. The college also calls for the establishment of a new senior management role held by a clinician.
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The college said areas around the country that already have clinical directors in child psychiatry do “much better” but the current situation resulted in “a postcode lottery in terms of how good your service is around the country”.
Speaking about the proposals, Dr Patricia Byrne, chair of the faculty of child and adolescent psychiatry, said one of the issues facing mental health services currently is “we can’t recruit”.
The HSE’s pay and numbers strategy has “effectively prevented recruitment then or in future, for previously approved posts or to seek new additional posts”, she said
“Increased staffing in the HSE has increased in the acute hospital sector. On the front line, very little has changed in terms of staffing. Nothing has improved to any significant degree,” she said.
Dr Byrne said a report by the Mental Health Commission identified “national deficits” in team staffing, resources and a failure to respond to risks.
“This has led to variable and, at times, a suboptimal service for children and adolescents who suffer from severe mental illness,” she said.
According to Dr Byrne, if its proposed changes are not introduced, the consequence would see a continuation of a system that is “not fit for purpose”.
“More young people will continue to not receive gold-class service sitting on waiting lists. More young people are impacted. More staff end up burnt out,” she said.
The Government intends to overhaul the provision of mental healthcare in Ireland through the Mental Health Bill 2024, describing it as “person-centred”. However, psychiatrists have criticised the Bill, particularly around new regulations on involuntary detention and treatment.
Under the Bill, Camhs will be regulated by the commission for the first time.
Speaking recently, Minister of State with responsibility for mental health Mary Butler said year-on-year funding for mental health services increased by €143.5 million from €1.3 billion announced in Budget 2024 to almost €1.5 billion in 2025. The 2025 budget also included funding for additional staff within Camhs.
