Mental health waiting lists growing year-on-year due to lack of capacity in public system
10,800 Adults, Picture: Waiting Waiting Report – Performance The Hse A Than More January Half Of March More Pa To For With These Are Over See Including Than Shows People, For Year That Psychologist A 2021
HSE spending on expensive private residential placements for people with mental illnesses is “growing year-on-year” because of the increasing complexity of the disorders and lack of capacity in the public system.
The health agency said this was one of a “number of financial challenges” facing mental health services, which are also suffering from a “reduced ability” to recruit staff for available posts, resulting in greater expenditure on overtime and agency staff.
The HSE Performance Report for January-March 2021 shows that more than 10,800 people, including adults, are waiting to see a psychologist – with more than half of these waiting for over a year.
The report shows that more than 2,600 children were on waiting lists for mental health services as of last March – over 280 of them waiting longer than a year.
HSE figures show Cork and Kerry have one of the biggest waiting lists, with 60 children on it.
On the budgetary and staffing problems in mental health services, the report says: “Mental Health have a number of financial challenges, namely a high level of agency and overtime due to reduced ability to recruit staff into available posts, and an increasing level of high-cost residential placements with external private providers.
“The level of expenditure on external high-cost residential placements is growing year on year due to the increasing complexity of patients and capacity constraints within the public system.”
It said 10,814 people were on a waiting list to begin treatment with a psychologist as of last March and that 5,807 of these were waiting for over a year.
The report also reveals that the HSE has a 2021 budget of €410m to reimburse the State Claims Agency for managing and settling claims.
“It is noted that the most substantial drivers of the growth in costs reimbursed to the SCA over recent years have been factors related to the operation of the legal process around claims and the overall maturing of the claims portfolio, rather than by the incidence of claims.”
Psychological Society of Ireland past president Mark Smyth said: “Over 10,000 waiting to be seen for therapy with a psychologist and 5,800 waiting more than a year is inexcusable."
He said they have called on the Government to increase funding for an increased psychological workforce to meet the psychological needs of the population in primary care, mental health and disability.
“We're spending more on agency and private providers in mental health and disability because of a head-in-the-sand approach to recognising the failure that is the HSE national panel system of recruitment," he said.
"Narratives of we've a recruitment and retention crisis in staffing are hollow words when the problems of the panel system have been highlighted consistently for over 10 years.”