Dr. John Hillery:

I apologise that I wandered from my opening statement a bit but I said that one of the issues for parents is that there is nowhere you can go and have an immediate point of contact. Professor Lucey would have the same experience I have of regular phone calls from people we know in various parts of the country asking about a friend who has an issue and asking what they can do. Surely with modern technology and IT, we can have a one-stop shop.

It goes back to when I trained in child psychiatry, which is a long time ago, although you might not think so to look at me. I saw a lot of kids who had simple issues. They had dyslexia and so they were being bullied at school. They had what we now call autism spectrum disorder so they were being bullied at school and they did not fit in but they all ended up coming to CAMHS. We now know so much more about these conditions but it seems to me that what the Deputy has just said is true; they end up going to different places and there is no joined-up thinking. They should never have to get to CAMHS but because of the fact they do not get early support, they end up, as any of us would, stressed and more open to mental health illness. It is about having-----