Carol Nolan warns of 2,500+ young people waiting for mental health care
Carol Nolan addressed the minister about rising demand for acute camps service and long mental-health waiting lists, calling the situation unacceptable and in urgent need of action. She said over two and a half thousand young people are waiting for an initial appointment and that hundreds have waited more than a year.
Waiting lists and scope
The deputy highlighted that demand for acute camps service is increasing with over two and a half thousand young people waiting for an initial appointment. She said hundreds have been waiting for more than a year and adults are also being put on long waiting lists.
Impact on children and families
Nolan warned the worsening crisis is leaving vulnerable children at risk, with some so anxious they must leave school and apply for home tuition. She described families worn out and desperate, fighting for basic and vital services with little or no support.
Admissions and system failures
The speech called the situation a national scandal and a failure of the system, noting that children are being admitted to adult wards in recent years. She said preventative mechanisms and supports for children, teenagers and adults are not in place and waiting times allow problems to become more serious.
Community organisations filling gaps
Nolan commended organisations such as Jigsaw, GA clubs and Men's Shed for stepping in to help communities, but warned they are stretched to the limits. She said these voluntary services are filling gaps left by inadequate state supports and that more HSE interventions are needed.
Call for urgent government action
The deputy urged government-led initiatives and preventative measures to respond to the crisis in a timely manner. She cited recent reports as a wake-up call showing more teenagers experiencing anxiety and taking antidepressants and insisted on urgent and meaningful action to protect young people and adults.
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Minister, it is alarming to see that the demand for acute camps service is increasing and over two and a half thousand young people are waiting for an initial appointment. Hundreds have been waiting for more than a year for assessments and this is an unacceptable situation and it is a concern to all of us because we hear from the families in our offices who were just in desperate preparation seeking a solution and seeking support and all we can do is write letters to yourselves or to the services directly but we do need more action in this regard because as I say it is just getting worse by the day unfortunately. The worsening crisis is leaving more vulnerable children at risk. I have seen cases where children because the anxiety is so bad have to leave the school that they are in and have to apply for home tuition and that shouldn't be the case because if the preventative measures were there I believe it would not reach that point and we really do need to take stock of what is happening and put actions in place. It is shameful as I say that preventative mechanisms and supports or services to deal with mental health problems before they become serious in both teenagers, children and adults are not in place and very often as I say the wait for children is too long teenagers and children can be in distress for over 12 months. It is not much different for adults because I have seen adults also been put on a long waiting list and waiting for an appointment. It is unacceptable to have these waiting lists when we know so much more about mental health now. We have never had as many reviews and as much emphasis and people are coming out and speaking about it but you know in the absence of action we are going nowhere with this or getting to grips with it. We are often specialised in the area of mental health. We are also trying to fill a gap and that needs to be investigated and dealt with and you know in terms of the escalating crisis it is a national scandal and it is a failure of our system that children the most vulnerable in society are being admitted to adult wards and that is happening for the last number of years. I expect many distressed families who are worn out trying to fight for basic and vital services for their children and they do feel frustrated and feel that they are doing this against the odds and with little or no support in desperation as I say at times. If we did not have organisations such as Jigsaw and other voluntary mental health services and indeed many GA clubs throughout the state who have also helped and done their bit in terms of mental health. This crisis would be far worse and thank God you know that we have all of those people there in place to help and play their part. I want to take this opportunity to commend all of those people in these organisations within many communities. These organisations as I say are filling a gap left by the absence of other adequate services and support in our system and this is failing children and many of these organisations are finding it very difficult to continuously fill that gap and many of them have said to me you know that they are stretched to the limits and we do need more HSE interventions. Adults living in rural remote areas who experience social isolation have also been failed to a degree by the lack of supports and you know only for people in their communities who are active on this issue key community activists and indeed organisations that are there also like Men's Shed that initiative which came from Australia it's a fantastic initiative. I attended the briefing here a few months ago and was absolutely amazed at what they have achieved in such a short time but if it weren't for those organisations stepping in and stepping up to the mark we would be in a far worse situation today. I do feel that we need government-led initiatives in dealing with all of the problems across society both young and old men and women we have to deal with the problem and we have to have preventative measures. We need to respond now to a crisis that we face in a timely manner and you know by doing so we prevent heartache and distress which has already been experienced by too many families and individuals throughout this state. We need urgent and meaningful action because the recent reports which we show they really are a wake-up call. They show that we have more and more teenagers experiencing anxiety and taking antidepressants. I mean these are young adults and surely that is the wake-up call we need now to take this urgent action once and for all and to make sure that we are serving them and indeed protecting them as best we can. Thank you Deputy Mayor
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