Sinn Féin Area Rep for the Kilmuckridge LEA has tonight again raised the issue of CAMHS in Co. Wexford, following Teachta Mythen’s speech in Dáil Éireann less than a fortnight ago.

Colette Nolan said:

“Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Wexford have been on the forefront of discussions and promises for far too long. Every day that goes by concerned parents await appointments for struggling children and teenagers, many of which have been on the waiting list in excess of 3 or 4 years. 

The issue is actually two-fold, in that there is a waiting time for an initial assessment, followed by a waiting time for an actual appointment with a psychiatrist, after the initial diagnosis is made. So essentially a family with a vulnerable child or teen may be waiting up to 5 years for these vital supports, which in some cases turn out to be life-saving.

There is an additional issue leading to overwhelming distress for some parents who, after paying heavily for private assessments by HSE recognised psychologists, are then being told that CAMHS must carry out their own diagnoses. This only further highlights the flaws in the current public/private health system which has been kicked down the path by successive governments.”

Earlier this year all representatives from Wexford Sinn Féin welcomed the progress that had been made with the opening of Arden House.

“Arden House is a step in the right direction for CAMHS in Wexford, but this journey is not over by any stretch of the imagination’ said Cllr Tom Forde. “Across the county, and through our constituency office, myself and my colleagues are contacted almost daily by parents who need this help, need this support and regularly query when these waiting lists will be fixed, permanently.”

Ms Nolan added,

“Some parents have additional concerns that their teenager may ‘time-out’ of the CAMHS system, where an adolescent of 13/14 years, facing a 4 year waiting list, may not even access these services until adulthood, where they will face a new set of waiting lists. By not dealing with these issues at pre-teen or teenage years, we are essentially robbing our children of their adolescent years. These are years they will never get back, never relive and years that should be enjoyed, and not endured.’