CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) in West Cork is in a ‘state of crisis’, it has been claimed.

Deputy Michael Collins (Ind Ire) highlighted a recent case involving a 14-year-old who was urgently referred to CAMHS by their doctor after they had experienced suicidal thoughts.

‘The mum of the child was told that the psychiatrist already has 17 emergency cases ahead of them and they weren’t even given a timeframe for an assessment,’ said Deputy Collins.

‘There simply aren’t enough staff to help these people and the entire service is operating with just one psychiatrist, while there is no psychologist, mental health nurse as well as no social worker or therapists on the team.’

Deputy Collins said while the HSE claims it is recruiting to fill these much-needed roles the reality on the ground is different.

‘The situation is so serious now that the sole psychiatrist, who is due to retire in the coming years, may retire early due to the overwhelming pressures they are experiencing within
their work,’ he said.

Deputy Collins warned this would effectively leave West Cork without any CAMHS service for those under 18.

Having raised the issue in the Dáil last week he asked what immediate actions the Government is taking to ‘stabilise’ CAMHS in West Cork to ensure urgent recruitment across all professional roles and to make sure that vulnerable children or adolescents are not left without any mental health service.

Tánaiste Simon Harris said he would raise the matter directly with the Minister of State for Mental Health Mary Butler and said there has been a 70% increase in referrals to CAMHS in just six years which he said gives an insight into the challenges faced by the service.

Camhs in North Kerry came into the spotlight in the past week with a new compensation scheme initiated for those identified as being put at risk of harm during their treatment with the service.

A spokesperson for HSE South West told The Southern Star that there is one Camhs consultant post allocated to the West Cork Camhs team, an allocation which they say is similar to other Camhs teams.

‘Camhs teams are made up of staff from different disciplines including psychologists, occupational therapists and nurses for example. In any team, staff levels can vary from time to time due to statutory leave and sick leave. This is normal across all HSE teams and services.’

They added that a newly-created post of Camhs Practice Manager has been created to oversee the administrative and operational running of community child and mental health teams.

‘Following a recent recruitment campaign, we anticipate that a Practice Manager will be in place in West Cork Camhs team. Soon.