Nearly 3,600 children and adolescents are waiting to be assessed by psychiatrists, with 30 per cent of these having been on the waiting list for over a year, new figures reveal.
According to a review compiled by the Health Service Executive (HSE) in response to a recent parliamentary question from Fine Gael, 3,598 young people are currently waiting to be seen by a consultant child psychiatry team, a rise of 15 per cent in two years.
The HSE estimates that 30 per cent of those currently on the list will be seen within 13 weeks while the remaining 70 per cent have a waiting time of less than 12 months.
The HSE said that children referred by their General Practitioner as a priority are seen immediately by a consultant and that "appropriate interventions" are provided.
Fine Gael's spokesman on disability issues, David Stanton today described the increase in waiting times as "disturbing."
“Long waiting times for a diagnosis have a damaging effect on not just the young people themselves but also their families and those close to them. It is clear that the Fianna Fáil-led Government and the HSE are failing to meet the needs of children with psychiatric difficulties; in particular young people aged 16 and 17 years who cannot be treated in adult facilities, nor are children’s facilities suitable for them," said Mr Stanton.
The HSE said that under its 2008 service plan there is a provision for eight additional consultant child psychiatry teams to further support the provision of child psychiatric services. It also said it will be providing 18 additional acute children's beds to bring the total number of acute beds available to 30 by the end of the year.
Mr Stanton welcomed the additional resources but said that the Government needed to offer guarantees that more staff will be provided to address the current backlog.
"Considering that cuts in health and education are already being sneaked out, the thousands of children awaiting psychiatric assessment need firm assurances that they will not be further hit,” said Mr Stanton.
