The Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT) in Northern Ireland has reduced the operating hours of a specialist mental health support service for children and young people. The Card Before You Leave scheme, which provides written appointments for young people in crisis before they leave hospital emergency departments, will now only run from Monday to Friday.
According to the trust, the change was introduced in August as part of wider savings measures. The reduction means the service is not available at all on weekends and bank holidays. The trust stated that the cut applies only to young people who present out of hours and are assessed as low risk.
Weekend gaps in care
Under the new arrangement, low-risk patients are now assessed by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) on the next working day rather than the next calendar day. The trust emphasized that there has been no change to arrangements for young people assessed as high risk. These individuals continue to receive appropriate assessment and support based on their clinical needs, according to the trust.
Dr Joe McEvoy, a general practitioner in Londonderry, described the reduction as a further “chipping away at an already threadbare service.” He told BBC Radio Foyle that weekends and bank holidays are the times when peaks in mental health distress in young people are most common.
McEvoy explained that a young person in distress on a Friday evening will now have to wait until Monday morning on a normal weekend. On a bank holiday weekend, the wait extends to Tuesday morning. If a weekend includes two bank holidays, such as Christmas or Easter, the young person might not be seen until Wednesday morning.
Political and medical backlash
Local politicians have called for the decision to be reversed. Foyle DUP MLA Julie Middleton urged for the service to be reinstated, noting that someone deemed low risk could move quite rapidly to a higher risk category. She stated that the community needs to provide a pathway where young people know it is okay to ask for help and that help is coming.
SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan said the trust’s need to save money was directly impacting services that the population needs. He stressed that parents should not be deterred from seeking help for their child. Durkan clarified that those deemed more at risk, including medium or high risk, would not be just sent home.
The financial pressures forcing these cuts are part of a broader crisis in Northern Ireland’s health sector. In August, health trusts announced proposals to make savings of up to 12% over three years. Permanent Health Secretary Mike Farrar said health and social care is facing enormous challenges, with a current funding gap of £800m.
The Western Health and Social Care Trust said it remains committed to providing safe and effective mental health services for children and young people. The reduction in the scheme’s operating hours will remain under review. Other health trusts in Northern Ireland, including the Belfast, Northern, Southern, and South Eastern Trusts, have not made changes to the Card Before You Leave scheme.
Source: BBC
