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Parents anxious over lengthy waiting times for children requiring mental health services KURT SANSONE CHILDREN and young people being treated for mental health disorders have to contend with regular postponement of appoint- ments and lengthy waiting times, parents have told MaltaToday. The children are users of the Children and Young People's Services, a unit based at St Luke's Hospital that offers assessments and management for mental dis- orders in young people. Parents said that in some instanc- es, appointments that would have been scheduled several months before end up being cancelled and shifted forward by "several more months". The situation is causing anxie- ty, especially among parents who cannot afford the specialist fees charged in the private sector. A Health Ministry spokesperson told MaltaToday that urgent cases are given priority and seen within one or two months, depending on the urgency and severity of the case. But the ministry provided no in- formation on the average time for a first specialist re- view for non-ur- gent cases, saying this depended on the particular spe- cialist. " N o n - u r g e n t cases are reviewed by nurse health p r o f e s s i o n a l s working within CYPS and then discussed with the multidisciplinary team. In these cases, the waiting time depends on the particular specialist," the spokesperson said. A 2014 study that evaluated waiting times at CYPS found that the average time for a first spe- cialist review was over 300 days. At the time the authors said the CYPS waiting times did not follow guidelines recommended by NHS Scotland's Local Delivery Plan Standards, which suggest children should not wait for more than 18 weeks from referral to treatment. It is unclear whether there has been any improvement in the av- erage waiting time since then. The latest data provided by the ministry shows that there are 2,634 children and young people being treated for mental health disorders at the CYPS. Additional- ly, there are 180 new users waiting for their first appointment. Asked about waiting times be- tween follow-up appointments, the health ministry said this also depended on the client's require- ments. "An individual might require a review after three weeks, whilst another after six months. To ad- dress waiting times, a multidisci- plinary approach is adopted with- in CYPS, with cases being triaged and referred to various health pro- fessionals within the CYPS team," the spokesperson said. Complaints about the lengthy waiting times for treatment at CYPS were first flagged by Na- tionalist MP Justin Schembri in a Facebook post last month. He told MaltaToday that some parents who approached him spoke of fol- low-up appointments that are giv- en one year away. "Children with difficulties re- quiring the services of the CYPS should be treated without delay but we have a situation where a p p o i n t m e n t s are not only not being given four months apart but in some in- stances, being cancelled with children hav- ing to wait for a whole year be- tween sessions," Schembri said. He insisted this situation did not bode well for the continuous de- velopment of children, especially those in a more vulnerable state. "It is unacceptable that we have an important government service that is not functioning well… if we truly believe in inclusion, the service has to drastically improve, be effective and provided with ad- equate resources," Schembri said. The PN education spokesperson also called for better "synchro- nisation" between the CYPS and schools, and the strengthening of nurture classes in schools. The 2014 study had found that users of CYPS identified the open- ing hours as a possible issue, since appointments are all given dur- ing school hours. This indirectly forced young people to choose be- tween attending classes or visiting the clinic. Meanwhile, the ministry said a call for applications for a consult- ant in child and adolescent psy- chiatry has been issued to bolster resources. A 2014 study that evaluated waiting times at CYPS found that the average time for a first specialist review was over 300 days. The Health Ministry has not provided updated information on the current average waiting time but parents are concerned the situation has not changed much over the years Opposition education spokesperson Justin Schembri says it is unacceptable that we have an important government service that is not functioning well