No CAMHS ID services in Leitrim

There is currently no active Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service Intellectual Disability [CAMHS ID] Service in Sligo Leitrim and Donegal CHO1 area, it was highlighted at a recent meeting of the HSE North West Forum. 

In response to a query by Cllr Declan Bree, Dermot Monaghan, Chief Officer, Community Healthcare Organisation, (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo) said currently there is no CAMHS ID waiting list for children. 
He said that "approval is in place to progress with recruitment of consultants required for this service and the recruitment process has commenced."

Maria Bridgeman, Chief Officer, HSE Mid West Community Healthcare said that HSE Mid West Community Healthcare has engaged a locum Mental Health Intellectual Disability (MHID) Consultant Psychiatrist to provide two clinics per month. 
"Given this limited availability of a MHID Consultant, there are currently 65 children on the waiting list for this clinic, with a waiting list that dates back to three years. 
"However, we have successfully recruited a MHID Consultant for Mid West Community Healthcare who is taking up a position in November 2023. This will significantly enhance the service for children with MHID and will reduce the waiting times."

Cllr Bree had asked what the average time that a child in the Regional Health Forum West area must wait before being called for assessment with John Fitzmaurice, Chief Officer, Community Healthcare West responding that  Community Healthcare West CAMHS do not have IT-enabled patient administration systems (PAS). 
"As a result, all case tracking is manual. While we do have clinically managed referral and appointment lists, and waiting lists if necessary, we cannot and do not measure average wait times as it would entail placing an excessive additional burden on our limited CAMHS Community Mental Health Team resources," he said.