Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I recently had a meeting with some of the leadership team of HSE south-southwest.

I asked people on my social media network what issues I should raise. There were others but one of the most common was mental health. It is an issue of significant concern to a wide range of the population. There are significant issues in adult services, with waiting times and the frequency with which people are seen. There was significant concern about the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. Approximately 650 children are on the waiting list in Cork, of whom 115 were waiting for more than one year at the end of last year. There is obviously prioritisation, but it is unconscionable and unacceptable that a child is waiting for more than 12 months to be seen. We are putting people at risk with such waiting times. They are facing difficult circumstances and concerned. Their families are worried and they need to be seen and receive the support they are not getting. I accept that there is increased demand and I am sure it can be said there is a need for a whole-of-government and perhaps a whole-of-society approach, but the way society is developing is causing increased mental health problems. There is also the stark fact that the resources are not available. In north Lee there is a gap. There has been no psychologist in place since early 2017. The team in the south west of Cork is operating at approximately 42% of the strength at which it should be operating under A Vision for Change. The numbers and staff are not available. That is causing the waiting lists people face and the follow-up is not always to the standard people expect. Sometimes people are seen, but it is very rushed. Then they are dissatisfied, which is a serious issue.

I want to give credit where credit is due for the work HSE south-southwest is doing with a new initiative in CAMHS for people with eating disorders. It is positive and I commend it.

An issue has been raised with me anecdotally, for which I cannot provide statistics. We are producing many psychology graduates. The route to becoming a clinical psychologist is very difficult and expensive. To gain the experience and training required, a person often has to engage in an unpaid placement. That issue needs to be looked at since it means that only people from a wealthy background or the very talented can gain that experience. That is a blockage which needs to be examined and removed. Many want to be clinical and consultant psychologists, but it is a difficult route, rightly so to a point. However, there are blockages with which we can deal.

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