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A new report on children’s mental health services has laid bare the staggering increase in demand – with referrals doubling in just three years.
But plans to ease the strain by extending opening hours have been delayed due to a staffing change.
There were 1,351 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) referrals in 2023, double the number three years earlier in 2020.
However, waiting times for non-urgent referrals continue to be within its 36-day target.
The CAMHS annual report revealed that a plan to extend duty and assessment hours to 08:00-20:00 seven days a week had been delayed due to a change in Service Manager to lead the staff consultation phase.
This extension is now expected to be introduced in 2024.
Pictured: The number of young people open to CAMHS at the end of each year from 2018 to 2023.
In the report’s introduction, Darren Bowring, Associate Director Mental Health and Wellbeing (CYPES), accepted that the significant increase in requests for neuro-developmental assessments – 489 referrals for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder compared to 51 in 2020, and 310 autism assessment referrals compared to 80 in 2020 – created pressures.
“Due to the significant increase in neuro-developmental referrals, assessments were completed on average within nine months; not as quick as we would like, but significantly better than the majority of UK local authorities who all saw similar large increases in referrals,” he wrote.
In addition, the service recruited a Locum Psychiatrist to focus solely on ADHD diagnostic assessments from October 2023 to March 2024.
Dual ADHD and autism assessments were also offered for the first time last year.
Although caseload figures increased between 2022 and 2023, the report noted that a significant number of children and young people remained open to the service because CAMHS is dispensing their ADHD medication and/or treatment.
Pictured: A previous report also raised concerns over the fact that only CAMHS clinicians are authorised to prescribe medication for service users.
This issue was also raised following an inspection of CAMHS by the Jersey Care Commission which criticised the fact that only CAMHS clinicians are authorised to prescribe medication for service users.
This has “a considerable impact on the capacity and workload of the clinicians responsible for prescribing”, according to the report.
The review highlighted "several challenges related to capacity and workload if this arrangement continues for the limited clinicians that prescribe and undertake six monthly medication reviews".
The Care Commission felt there should be a collaboration with GPs to share the responsibility of prescribing and medication reviews to "alleviate pressure on the CAMHS clinicians".
It was suggested that the current arrangement may also impact the service's ability to recruit and retain the clinical roles "due to the high workload, level of pressure, and responsibility".
The Government confirmed that the prescribing process “remains under active review”.
Pictured: The CAMHS annual report celebrated the launch of the island's first Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder clinic.
The CAMHS annual report also celebrated the launch of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder clinic, with FASD diagnosis for children being provided for the first time on island.
During the course of 2023, 18 of the 32 recommendations of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General were implemented, to add to the 12 introduced in 2022, leaving only the opening of the new Clinique Pinel building to replace Orchard House and updates to the memorandum of understanding between Health and CYPES outstanding.
Minister for Children and Families, Constable Richard Vibert, commented: "As an island community we must remain committed to ensure that Jersey’s children and young people are happy, thriving and able to enjoy the best mental health and wellbeing.
"I welcome the efforts of the CAMHS service, described in this report, to continue to strive for improvement.
"It is vital that children, young people and their families receive prompt, robust, and impactful assessment and support when experiencing mental health need.”
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