The HSE has said it is unable to provide average waiting times for children referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Roscommon and East Galway because the information is not systematically recorded.
The admission came in a response to a parliamentary question from Roscommon-Galway TD Martin Daly, who sought details on referrals, rejected referrals and waiting times across CAMHS teams serving Roscommon and Galway.
Figures supplied by HSE West and North West show that 347 referrals were received by the Roscommon/East Galway CAMHS team during the six months to the end of May 2026, of which 221 were accepted.
The team received 30 referrals in December, 40 in January, 35 in February, 31 in March, 40 in April and 44 in May. The corresponding numbers accepted were 16, 15, 14, 12, 25 and 21 respectively.
However, the HSE said data on the number of referrals rejected and returned to GPs, as well as the average waiting time between referral and a first appointment, was not available.
It said Galway-Roscommon CAMHS Community Mental Health Teams do not systematically record or report the source of referrals or average waiting times.
The HSE also confirmed that there is currently no electronic Patient Administration System for CAMHS, meaning data on access to Community Mental Health Teams is, where necessary, compiled manually by individual multidisciplinary teams each month.
The HSE acknowledged delays in accessing CAMHS and the difficulties these cause for young people and their families, attributing delays to increasing demand as well as difficulties recruiting and retaining CAMHS professionals.
It said all referrals are triaged and accepted referrals are kept under clinical review, with appointments issued as they become available. Funding is also being provided through the national CAMHS Waiting List Initiative, with some funding being used to address the longest waiting cases while clinically urgent referrals remain prioritised.
