Dr. Brendan Doody:

One would hope that all young people would be seen in a timely fashion. When a referral comes in, it is triaged. It is not the case that everyone goes to the back of the queue. Urgent cases are prioritised. A child who is suicidal or a child with a serious eating disorder absolutely would be prioritised. The concern about children who just meet the threshold is that a young person's presentation may not be seen as being as severe or as acute. In other words, the concern is that the priority cases will forever jump to the top of the queue. As for those on waiting lists, things change and families are encouraged to make contact and to speak to the team involved. The Chairman talked about eating disorders, for example. Currently, in our community specialist eating disorder service there are 15 on a waiting list, but 13 of those have an appointment and are seen in a very timely fashion. The children who have that more acute presentation will be seen. Sometimes the children waiting are those whose presentation is not as severe or as acute. The case is made that if the children are waiting, things will deteriorate because they are not getting intervention. That is a very valid point. When our overall number of referrals are climbing and climbing and the complexity of the cases attending or being referred is increasing, we have to look at how we, as a service, meet the needs of all the young people who are referred. It is challenging. The children with more acute or severe presentation are seen and prioritised. All referrals are prioritised, and those with the greatest need will be prioritised to be seen.