Demand for children’s mental health services increases


 
The demand for children’s mental health services has increased by almost a quarter since 2012.
The Department of Health says there are over 2,100 boys and girls on the waiting list for specialist care.
The department will tell the Oireachtas mental health sub-committee today demand for mental health services has increased substantially in recent years.
For child and adolescent mental health services, it rose by 24 per cent between 2012 and 2019.
Referrals increased from 10,700 to 13,200 over this period.
The department says, as of September, 2,137 boys and girls were on the waiting list for CAMHS.
It says this is down by nearly 200 on last December, but more needs to be done.
The HSE will tell the committee that Covid-19 has brought new challenges to mental health services.
It points to a WHO report that shows the pandemic disrupted or halted mental health services in 93 per cent of countries.
 

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