1,000 people in the HSE’s CHO 7 area are waiting for an appointment is shocking
New figures provided to John Curran TD for Dublin Mid-West show that there were 1,084 people waiting for a primary care psychology appointment in the area at the end of May this year. Nearly 400 of them have been on the list for over a year. Deputy Curran said, “These figures clearly outline the continuing crisis in the provision of mental health services in this country. The fact that more than 1,000 people in the HSE’s CHO 7 area are waiting for an appointment is shocking, however more than a third of them are on a waiting list for more than a year is scandalous. “Early intervention is so important when dealing with vulnerable patients suffering from mental health issues.
The State and the HSE have a duty to do better. “These figures reveal significant long waiting lists on a national basis also, with a total of 8,629 people in total waiting for Psychology Treatment and over 2,000 are waiting over a year. “Long waiting lists for Mental Health services stem from the fact that the CAMHS service has barely over half the staff required. Unfortunately, CAMHS is not the only mental health service suffering due to problems with recruitment – waiting lists and bed shortages are common throughout the service. “Renewed efforts need to be made to address these waiting lists. Such deficiencies in mental health services for children, teenagers and adults cannot be allowed to continue”, concluded Deputy Curran.
