- Written by Carmelo Garcia
- Local Democracy Reporting Service
image source, Getty Images
Child and Youth Mental Health Services waiting list is between 18 months and 2 years
More than 620 children and teenagers are waiting for mental health care in Gloucestershire, many waiting for help for more than two years.
City officials said they were gravely concerned that children, especially those between the ages of 4 and 11, have suffered so much since the coronavirus pandemic.
Councilor Colette Finnegan asked health officials what they were doing to improve the situation.
Gloucestershire NHS health chiefs say they are starting to see improvements.
Ms Finnegan, who represents the council on Gloucestershire County Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: ‘The waiting list for CAMHS is [Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services] Between 18 months and 2 years.
“My concern is that there are a lot of young children who are suffering tremendously from the effects of COVID-19.”
“There has been some progress.”
Douglas Blair, chief executive of Gloucestershire Health and Care Foundation Trust, told the committee meeting that he was aware waiting lists remained very long, Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.
He told the committee that the total number on the waiting list has decreased since the beginning of the year, but there are still 627 people on the list.
“January was even higher. About 60% of those who last waited had been waiting for less than a year, and 40% had been waiting for more than a year,” he said.
“Certainly, there’s still a very long wait and we’re working on that, but we feel like we’re starting to make some progress.”
image source, Getty Images
Gloucestershire Health and Care Foundation Trust said it was facing struggles due to increased demand.
Mr Blair said the trust was facing a “significant” increase in demand and was expanding its workforce in a number of ways.
He said schools are ramping up mental health support, which is depleting some staff.
Mr Blair said the core child and youth mental health service had reduced the total number of people in its posts during the calendar year.
However, he explained that about 70% of people are currently in positions, with a further 16% in the hiring pipeline.
Councilors agreed that a task and finishing group should be established to further investigate the issue.
