Stormont: call for urgent action on mental health in Northern Ireland

An urgent call was made today (Thursday) to bolster mental health services in Northern Ireland.

The Assembly's Public Accounts Committee said a rise in funding for key parts was necessary.

It wants the Department of Health to carry out a review into whether it is providing enough ‘early support’ to children who need it, including timely access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

The PAC has also asked for an action plan to address "unacceptable" mental health waiting lists.

The call follows its inquiry into mental health Services in Northern Ireland, arising from a report published by the Northern Ireland Audit Office last year.

It concluded that the successful implementation of Northern Ireland’s 10-year Mental Health Strategy was, ‘at risk without sustained, additional investment’.

Today, the PAC published its own report and made a series of recommendations to the Department of Health and the Executive as a whole.

The cost of mental ill-health in Northern Ireland is estimated to be around £3.4 billion per year.

Among the 16 recommendations made by the Committee are that the Department sets out a target and timeframe over which it will grow mental health funding towards 10-11% of the total health budget. The Committee has also requested the Department of Health identifies key gaps in mental health services, including regional disparities across Northern Ireland and urgently implements planned regional crisis services.

The Committee is calling for greater partnership working between Health and Education to better address the mental health needs of children. And it has asked the Department to implement services for those with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues as a matter of urgency.

In a statement, the Department of Health said: "The Department of Health acknowledges the NIAO’s report and fully agrees that mental health services in NI require additional funding.

"While progress has been made on the delivery of NI’s mental health strategy, the Department has been clear that additional and sustained funding is required to fully implement all actions within the strategy and bring about the necessary improvements in services.

"The Department will now take the time to consider the report’s 16 recommendations in full. "