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Kids' Mental Health Service Slashed on Weekends
29 Oct
Summary
- Specialist mental health support for youth in north west significantly reduced.
- Service now only operates weekdays, excluding weekends and bank holidays.
- Financial pressures cited as the reason for this service reduction.
Concerns are mounting over the reduction of a specialist mental health support service for children and young people in the north west. The Card Before You Leave scheme, designed to ensure young individuals in mental health crisis receive specialist appointments before leaving emergency departments, has had its operating hours curtailed.
The Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT) stated that due to financial pressures, the service now operates solely from Monday to Friday, ceasing all weekend and bank holiday services. This change, implemented in August as part of wider savings measures, affects only low-risk young people who are now assessed by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) on the next working day instead of the next calendar day.
Local GP Dr. Joe McEvoy highlighted that weekends and bank holidays are often peak times for mental health distress among young people. The reduction means a young person in distress on a Friday evening might not be seen until Monday, or even Tuesday or Wednesday during bank holiday periods. MLAs Julie Middleton and Mark H. Durkan have voiced strong opposition, urging the Trust to reverse the decision and emphasizing that financial savings should not compromise essential services that the population needs.
The WHSCT maintains its commitment to providing safe and effective mental health services and confirmed that high-risk cases continue to receive appropriate assessment and support. However, the wider context of Northern Ireland's health trusts proposing significant savings over three years, amid an £800 million funding gap, underscores the challenges facing the sector.
