Children wait for mental health checks

ALMOST 300 vulnerable children and adolescents are waiting a year or more to be assessed by mental health teams despite official policies that emphasise the importance of early intervention.

However, Health Service Executive figures also show significant progress is being made in increasing the volume of assessments and reducing waiting times.

Attention-deficit disorders are the most frequent issues among young people in need of support, followed by anxiety, depressive disorders, self-harm and eating disorders.

The figures show that 1,897 children and adolescents were waiting to be seen by mental health services at the end of September 2011. This represents a decrease of 20 per cent on the number waiting at the same time last year.

Of those waiting, 35 per cent were waiting less than three months, and 25 per cent were waiting between three and six months for an appointment. A further 25 per cent were waiting between six months and a year, while another 15 per cent were waiting for a year or more.

When the figures are broken down by new cases, they show that some 45 per cent of referrals are seen within a month, and just under 70 per cent within three months. An analysis of the figures shows that adolescents aged 15 are most likely to attend child and adolescent mental-health services, followed by children aged 10-14.

They show that depressive disorders increase with age, accounting for a quarter (24 per cent) of adolescents aged 15 and upwards.

Deliberate self-harm also increases with age, and accounts for 8 per cent of primary presentations of those aged 15 and older. Broken down by new cases, deliberate self-harm or suicidal ideation account for some 22 per cent of new cases in this age group.