55 week wait for child autism and ADHD assessments

An increase in demand for ADHD and autism assessments pushed the average waiting time to over a year in 2024.

Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) saw an increase in the general caseload last year, with a total of 1,949 service users.  That number has doubled in four years.

934 of these were new referrals.  That equates to average of 18 new referrals every week.

There were 245 referrals for Autism assessments and 289 for ADHD assessments in 2024, according to the services annual report.  55 weeks was the average wait.

The government says that, from this month, the CAMHS Duty and Assessment Team will operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week, from 8am to 8pm.

The service's team has also been expanded to 75 full-time members of staff.   This is compared to the 21 positions reported at CAMHS in 2021.

Separate to the demands on neurodevelopmental services, it takes - on average- a month (31 days) between a mental health referral and the completion of an initial assessment for a child or young person.

Despite the large volume of work, that puts Jersey CAMHS as quickest services to access compared to UK data (NHS benchmarking).

A survey of users, which received 218 responses including 121 from children, returned positive comments.

Service users responded overwhelmingly with 'certainly true' to questions such as 'people listen to me/ my child', 'I am/my child is taken seriously', 'I am / my child is treated well'. 

When asked 'What was good about your child's care?' responses include:

"We could not have got through the last couple of years without CAMHS involvement"

"Decisions were discussed and made together. We were asked and listened to."

CAHMS had a budget of £6,563,612 for 2024, and spent. £5,966,734.

Constable Richard Vibert, Minister for Children and Families, said:

"The Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) continues to be extremely busy and in-demand.

"The statistical performance compared with UK data is pleasing, and progress described in JCC inspection reports also shows a clearly improving and evolving service.

"I hope, as an island, we continue to work collectively to create an environment where every child and young person feels empowered to seek help, share their experiences, and know they are not alone.

"Together, we will continue to work hard to build a healthier, more resilient future for all.’