Up to three years wait for treatment
Sep 26 2007 by Audrey Barton, The Journal
CHILDREN in the North-East suffering mental health problems are waiting over two years for treatment – and the numbers of patients are rising.
Some of the most vulnerable members of society are waiting up to 110 weeks for treatment by Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Specialist Services, new figures have revealed.
Young people up to the age of 18 with problems ranging from anxiety and depression, to eating disorders and psychosis such as schizophrenia are experiencing lengthy delays to access psychology services.
Adults with mental illness who are in need of treatment are also enduring lengthy waits, some in excess of 150 weeks – just under three years – to access the service at Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust.
The situation is worsening across the region as the total number of patients waiting to access the service for treatment at the trust has risen from 833 to 991 in just two months.
Rising pressure is being placed on mental health services across the country as mental health is now classed as Britain’s biggest social problem with more emphasis placed on psychological therapies instead of prescription drugs.
One in four people will suffer some sort of mental health condition during their lifetime and access to care is a growing problem as they look for somewhere to turn. Dr Roger Paxton, acting lead for psychology services at the trust, cited a lack of psychologists nationally.
“We are very concerned indeed about psychology waiting times,” he said.
“It is certainly not beneficial to patients to be waiting that long.
“It is a national problem. Our view is we need more staff but there is no more funding.”
The trust, which runs mental health and learning disability services across Northumberland, Tyneside and Wearside, has no plans to recruit more psychologists despite the problem.
“We are not going to get any more money from central government,” he said
“We have to focus on making better use of the resources we have.”
There is no government target for psychology waits but the trust has a self imposed time of 18 weeks between GP referral and seeing the psychology teams which are made up of clinical psychologists, trained nurses and psychological therapists.
Access to the Learning Disability Services is taking up to 80 weeks.
CAMHS and Specialist Services received the highest increase, according to the figures in the trust board papers, which show a total of 32 young people waiting for treatment in February this year, a figure leapt up to 116 in just two months.
Dr Paxton branded the increase a ‘red herring’ citing an incorrect change in the way the figures were configured which included services run by other trusts using psychologists employed by Northumberland, Tyne and Wear.
“But that isn’t to say there should be a large number of people waiting, that is a problem anyway,” he said.
“We know we are more likely to help someone if we see them quickly.
“We are trying to make better use of the staff we have got to target our services to the most needy people and get the services to them as quickly as possible.”
He said some of the waits would be people who had delayed their treatment for personal convenience.
Blyth MP Ronnie Campbell and member of the health select committee said he was “shocked” by the waiting times.
“This is a problem that is getting bigger.
“It is a worry if there are people in desperate need of treatment who are not being seen.
I know there is a shortage of psychologists nationally and I think the government needs to push to focus on mental health services.”
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Hundreds affected
The number of people waiting to access mental health services at Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Trust.
Working Age Adult Services:
Feb 07:
Apr 07:
CAMHS and Specialist Services:
Feb 07:
Apr 07:
Learning Disability Services
Feb 07:
Apr 07:
Total
Feb 07:
Apr 07:
Older People’s Services have no-one waiting.
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No targets have been set for these case
DELIVERING an 18-week patient pathway from GP referral to the start of treatment for patients by the end of 2008 is a key objective for the NHS.
But a Department of Health spokesman explained there are currently no targets for referrals to psychology services from a GP in primary care.
“A referral from primary care to a mental health consultant starts an 18-week pathway.
“However, referrals from primary care to mental health services that are not medical or surgical consultant-led (this may include multi-disciplinary teams and community teams run by mental health trusts), irrespective of setting, do not start an 18-week clock.”
Psychology services are provided by a range of professions including clinical psychologists, trained nurses and psychological therapists.
