Children who have self-harmed or even attempted to take their own lives are waiting more than three years to access specialist mental health services in one part of Wales, a new report claims. The South Glamorgan Community Health Council, an independent watchdog, asked patients and their families to share their experiences of mental healthcare in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
In total they received 74 completed responses, many of whom reported a negative experience. When it came to child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS), there were several serious complaints about the length of waiting times.
One respondent said: "Very poor service. The waiting times are ridiculous. My daughter attempted suicide in April 2019. To this day (March 2022) she is still on a waiting list to be neurologically assessed. If I hadn't made sacrifices to pay for private counselling I hate to think where we'd be today."
