Dr. Joseph Duffy:

It is about going at it from a number of angles. Much of Jigsaw’s relationship with GPs is through written connections. We are developing a data management system that will link directly with the GPs’ referral system. That is one proper way to connect services.

We have a connection with about half of the CAMHS teams in the country, and a really good relationship with half of those. That is based on personal relationships with the staff on the ground and in the CAMHS team. We do great work with them. What has to change is how that is encouraged, not just on a ground level but on a regional and national level. The struggle we have in Jigsaw is our community-based services are heavily supported by the HSE. That is State money. The CAMHS services are supported by the HSE but the sense is they are regarded as being separate and one must refer through a formal process to the other.

It is about having a sense of integration and also how we share data. Where we have managed to do that in communities, it has been through a group of professionals getting together - there is a really good example in the work we did in Donegal - and setting out a memorandum of understanding concerning how data will be shared. It is almost like a case management meeting but without getting into too much detail, and also talking about how the services can provide support. A GP, for example, may decide to refer to Jigsaw, CAMHS, a private counsellor or a whole range of people because he or she wants to get the most instant support possible. We have done significant work helping GPs to understand that Jigsaw works in one area but not in other places. That gives a better sense as, I hope, will the new role the HSE is creating. It is about having an agreed commitment to look at that integration.