Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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603. To ask the Minister for Health his Department's current measures to address access to mental health services for those under 18 years of age; if he will report on the collaborative measures he is taking with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14649/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The HSE has statutory responsibility for the operation of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. There are currently 63 teams in place, which are being reconfigured and expanded, in line with the key priorities in the HSE National Service Plan 2015, and supported from the additional investment for Mental Health Services put in place since 2012.

The HSE waiting list for CAMHS, at February 2015, indicates an overall figure of approximately 3,000 children, of which some 400 are waiting in excess of 12 months. A significant number of children are seen in accordance with targets agreed in the HSE Service Plan for this year. A significant proportion of children on the waiting list are waiting less than three months to be seen. In January 2015, 74 % of children referred were offered an appointment and seen within three months, against the national target of 72%.

It is unacceptable for a child or adolescent to wait longer than 12 months to be seen by a CAMHS team. Direct engagement takes place between the HSE Mental Health Division and all Community Healthcare Organisations (CHOs) on a monthly basis in relation to their performance against agreed performance metrics, including children waiting over one year to be seen. As part of the National CAMHS Service Improvement Project, detailed work has already commenced with CHOs both to review issues affecting performance, and to prepare for the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures for CAMHS.

A targeted approach to addressing child/adolescents on the CAMHS waiting list within the Mental Health Division has also been initiated. All CAMHS Teams have been requested to review lists of children and revert with the contributory factors identified to include detailed action plans agreed to address the lists for each team.

CAMHS teams rate the number of complex cases, the number of emergency cases, and the lack of other services in an area as factors having the greatest impact on capacity to respond to demand. This can in turn lead to less discharges, increased numbers on waiting lists, and longer waiting times for routine assessments. Successive CAMHS reports over a number of years have referred to the many factors that can affect the capacity of a team to respond to the demands placed on it, including referral numbers, administrative/skills mix back-up supports, collaboration with other services such as primary care, TUSLA or school services, and emergency or complex cases arising at particular times.

The collaborative measures referred to by the Deputy are the operational responsibility of front-line agencies delivering children's services. This includes CAMHS working with at-risk children accessing mental health services, and who are also known to TUSLA and the juvenile justice system.

The HSE is currently working in partnership with TUSLA, and co-sponsoring research with NUI Maynooth which is aimed at developing innovative research, building capacity and promoting interagency integration, with a view to developing family-focused mental health services. A CAMHS Community Forensic Team is being developed in 2015 to work with at-risk children accessing mental health services who are known to TUSLA and the juvenile justice systems. This Team will be a precursor to the new 10 bed CAMHS Forensic Inpatient facility being developed as part of the new National Forensic Mental Health Hospital in Portrane, due for completion in 2018. The Team will operate at a national level, liaising with TUSLA and supporting CAMHS nationwide.

The Department of Health is actively engaged with the HSE in relation to monitoring and enhancing all aspects of CAMHS provision over the remainder of this year, as part of the Department's oversight role on the HSE National Service Plan 2015.