Ms Hannah N? Ghiolla Mhairt?n:

I would say this is very untypical. What that individual got sounds brilliant. I am aware that people joining our group are probably the people having the worst experiences, which is why they seek us out, but a large number of us are having very difficult experiences. There is also a high turnover of staff. Even people getting regular six-month appointments will be told by their psychiatrist that they are leaving and to be prepared for a long gap until the next appointment. We are speaking about a gap of nine to 12 months because it takes so long to fill the positions. The majority of our members are offered medication which requires a certain amount of review and appointments, perhaps every six months. Very few are offered therapeutic supports. I presume it is the children getting therapeutic supports who are seen more frequently.

A point which is slightly separate but which perhaps we have not mentioned is that while we always speak about the waiting list of 4,400 children, the number of medical refusals to CAMHS has jumped by 12% since 2020. A large number of children who are trying to get into the service are not on the waiting list. This probably includes some of our members, who have to be referred two to five times or go to an emergency department before they get into CAMHS. The waiting list does not cover the real number waiting.