Press release
Minister Butler welcomes Mental Health Commission’s Final Report on Independent Review of CAMHS
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler, welcomed the publication of the Mental Health Commission’s Final Report on the Independent Review of the provision of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in the State by the Inspector of Mental Health Services, Dr Susan Finnerty.
Speaking on the launch of the Report, which focuses on child and adolescent mental health services across all nine Community Health Organisation (CHOs) Minister Butler said:
"This report is a comprehensive and welcome contribution to our shared common objective of improving the quality and safety of all CAMH services. While the report raises serious issues of concern, the department and I have been assured that all immediate concerns raised by the MHC and escalated to the Health Service Executive (HSE) have been addressed as a matter of priority.
"It is important to note that the HSE have actively and pro-actively sought to remedy any concerns raised by the interim report in January 2023, and they continue to work to make CAMHS an accessible, modern, patient-centred service. I also welcome the Commission’s positive comments in the report and note that many young people and their families had received excellent care and treatment through CAMHS. It is also important and reassuring that the Mental Health Commission’s report has provided confidence that the issues around prescribing practice identified in the Maskey Report in January 2022 have not been evidenced in other parts of the country."
Minister Butler concluded:
"Improving mental health services for young people in this country is a priority for me and this government. The overall budget for Mental Health has increased by nearly 20% during the term of this government. €137 million is provided to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services annually. In addition, more than €80 million has been provided to community-based mental health organisations this year, with a significant proportion of this dedicated to supporting child and young people.
"While recruitment remains a challenge across the Health Sector, the number of consultant Psychiatrists working across community CAMHS teams have increased to 80 Consultants working across 75 CAMHS teams. The recent appointment of the first ever Clinical Lead for Youth Mental Health, Dr Amanda Burke, is another positive step in driving improvements in services nationally, along with the establishment of a dedicated National Office for Child and Youth Mental Health, which will provide leadership, operational oversight, and delegated management of all service delivery and improvements."
Minister Butler and the Department of Health have noted the 49 recommendations of the final report. The department have also noted that the majority of recommendations in the Commission’s report are already being progressed by the HSE under the implementation of Sharing the Vision, Connecting for Life, and the audits and reviews arising from the Maskey Report. The need to expand the Commission’s regulatory function is already being addressed in provisions of a new Mental Health Bill, which is currently being finalised as a priority for introduction to the Oireachtas.
The Department of Health looks forward to working with the HSE in the implementation of the Child and Youth Mental Health Service Improvement Programme. The programme is an initiative to build capacity in CAMHS and Youth Mental Health, and which aims to recruit additional expert staff, expand teams, develop specialist services and clinical programmes, further develop suicide prevention initiatives and primary care mental health services, and make services more responsive in both access and quality of outcome.
Furthermore, the HSE continues to progress three national audits in relation to CAMHS, namely the national review of CAMHS prescribing practice, the national audit of compliance with the CAMHS Operational Guidelines and a qualitative review of service user experiences in CAMHS is being undertaken by UCC. The reports on these audits, expected in the coming weeks and months, will also be given full and proper consideration by the government.