A senior councillor is set to make a bid to force change in children’s mental health provision in West Dunbartonshire.
Deputy council leader Michelle McGinty says “children with additional needs are being let down” by services in the area, as she opened up on her own grandson’s situation.
The Leven member - who last year accused West Dunbartonshire’s Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) of “fudging” figures, to reduce waiting lists – is set to stage a public meeting in a bid to force changes in service provision.
The event, which is scheduled to take place at the Civic Space within West Dunbartonshire Council’s Church Street base on Friday (February 10) at 2pm, aims to engage parents of affected youngsters.
It comes after it emerged that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in the area are facing a dire backlog, with cases dating back to 2018 currently still waiting for assessment.
A number of families are waiting years for help in addressing a range of issues, including ADHD and Autism, which they fear is having a knock-on effect on their childrens' education.
Councillor McGinty hopes the event will bring together the parents and guardians of affected youngsters to find a way forward.
She said: “I have first hand experience of children currently being let down by the services being provided by CAMHS services in West Dunbartonshire.
“My grandson is one of those children who have been let down by the system and is currently still awaiting assessment, despite not having the correct support in place since he was a primary three pupil.
“He is now in primary seven and our family has been told that it will take at least another two years for him to be assessed.
“There are other families out there who are struggling and are also being let down.
“It is vital that we find a way to take this forward and address these failings as our childrens’ futures are at stake.”
Anyone affected by the delays in CAMHS service provision is urged to attend the meeting.
CAMHS services in West Dunbartonshire have been under pressure for a number of years, however the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been blamed for adding to the backlog.
Last year Cllr McGinty accused the health board of ‘fudging’ waiting time figures, highlighting that the health board removed patient data from a waiting time list once they had received a consultation – despite still requiring an assessment.
A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “NHSGGC reports on CAMHS waiting times in line with national guidelines for recording. We aim to help every child and young person who comes to us, prioritising those with the highest clinical risk and those who have been waiting the longest.
“Any patient referred to CAMHS is given a full clinical assessment by our team of mental health experts. The best route of treatment, either with CAMHS or through an alternative pathway, is carefully considered, with the patient and their family consulted throughout.
“NHSGGC measures both the time individuals wait for assessment then for any treatment in order to provide an overall wait from referral to treatment.
“We would like to apologise to anyone who has been waiting longer than expected for an appointment.
“We are working hard, along with our West Dunbartonshire HSCP colleagues who manage CAMHS from an operational perspective, to reduce waiting times across the service.”
