An MHK has challenged Health Minister David Ashford’s reassurances over how long children have to wait for mental health treatment.

Daphne Caine (Garff) said Mr Ashford’s claims that the 92-day waiting time for treatment in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service was being met did not tally with the feedback she had received from concerned parents.

In Tynwald on Tuesday she said: ’I am having another flurry of emails this morning from parents expressing their view that they children are not getting seen within the waiting times, one having waited over 20 weeks; more 100 days in some cases.’

She added that some parents were concerned there children were discharged from treatment by CAMHS and left without support because the case did not involve self-harm.

Juan Watterson (Rushen) said there were ’worrying amounts of people taking their own lives’ in the Island and sought an assurance that cases were not being missed.

All cases were triaged, said Mr Ashford.

’Anyone who is seen as being a serious case of self-harm or in fact the extreme, suicide, they are dealt with very quickly,’ the minister pledged.

’In those such cases the person would be seen within days and we have had cases where people would be seen within 24 hours.’

Assessments

Mr Ashford said that at the end of June there were 847 cases ’open’ at CAMHS, with 59 young people awaiting an initial assessment, as of July 10, and 12 of those waiting for an appointment.

The target time for this was seven days from a referral.

One case involving a child had exceeded the seven-day target by one day.

Of the 47 who had received an appointment and were awaiting an assessment, the target time for that was 92 days. Again, one child had exceeded the maximum waiting time by one day.

He added that although the numbers sounded ’scary’ at present, the autism pathway was included within the scope of CAMHS and needed to be ’broken out’ as a separate service.

The numbers included other cases such as behavioural disorders and attention deficit. On top of that there had been a backlog of cases at the neuro developmental disorder clinic but that had been resolved.

The possibility of additional resources for CAMHS was being investigated, he said.

In a written response to a separate question Mr Ashford gave a break down of CAMHS waiting lists for school age children.

Those awaiting generic treatment numbered 22; initial assessment, 42; psychiatric service, seven; psychology service, five. Separately, there were 86 young people awaiting neuro developmental disorder assessment and 15 awaiting NDD treatment.

Mr Ashford added: ’Some people on these lists may also have a nurse or therapist already involved in their care but are waiting for specific treatment.’

Mrs Caine also asked Education Minister Graham Cregeen about the number of school children waiting for an education and child psychologist assessment.

The minister said there were 28 waiting for an assessmen. In addition, there were 207 children who were ’open to an education and child psychologist’ within the Education Department.

Of those 207, 126 cases were classed as active and 72 were ’open for monitoring and review purposes’.

A further nine cases have been allocated to a psychologist, with an assessment due shortly.