Ms Lauren Keogh:

I find what is happening in this regard is that the staff who are working in, say, CAMHS are not trained to identify needs in terms of the disability services and children are being lost. That is very concerning, especially for the staff. They are all about getting funding for their budget. They do not have the correct supports to be able to refer a child to the correct service to get the correct diagnosis. Early intervention is key.

I wish to add another suggestion to those already made. I refer to coping skills as a proactive measure. Ms McGee mentioned that for those children who have mild mental health difficulties, coping skills could be part of the school curriculum. We should teach the parents to teach the children coping skills. The parents could do it at home and the children could do it once a month in school. From the very start of primary school they would have those skills and not ever need the mental health services. It would reduce the costs from the get-go.