Over 270 waiting on CAMHS appointments across the north west



275 people in the Donegal, Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan and Cavan/Monaghan areas were on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services waiting list up as far as last July.

That’s according to details released under the Freedom of Information Act,

The FOI details include figures for Community Health Organisation area Number 1, which covers Donegal, Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan and Cavan/Monaghan.

In this area, there were 275 people on the waiting list at the middle of this year.

Of these, 124 were waiting less than three months, 85 between three and six months, 24 between six and nine months, 20 between nine and 12 months and 22 between 12 and 15 months.

No one in the region was waiting more than 15 months.

Across the country, there are more than 2,200 children on the waiting list, with 209 waiting for more than a year.

Tanya Ward from the Children’s Rights Alliance claims waiting times can be a matter of life and death.

Dr Madeleine Ní Dhalaigh, a member of the Irish Medical Organisation’s GP committee, says both children and parents are affected.



Related