MORE than 500 children and young people were on the waiting list for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAHMS) during the first lockdown of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Data from the Health and Social Care Board shows that the pandemic had some effect on patients waiting over nine weeks for a first appointment from the CAHMS service.

Last March, there were 358 patients waiting more than nine weeks for a first appointment within the Western Trust, with the number increasing throughout the first wave in April (488) and May (574).

The number fell from June onwards, but the figures reveal that, last September across Northern Ireland, there were 274 patients waiting for a first appointment, with 231 of those waiting in the Western Trust.

Some 222 of these patients were waiting to access ‘Step Three’ of the CAHMS programme. This level of intervention is for children and young people who need access to the service where there is a severe and enduring impact on the child or young person’s normal daily functioning, whether that be of a psychological, social, or educational nature.

Figures from the Department of Health unearthed via a Freedom of Information request show that the number of children and young people waiting for a first appointment in the Western Trust also increased during the pandemic.

These numbers show the number of people waiting for mental health services at the end of the month, irrespective of the duration of the wait.

The figures show that the greatest number of children waiting for access to the CAHMS occurred during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, at 583 children, while 603 patients were waiting for their appointments at the end of April.

In comparison to the previous year, April, 2019 saw 364 patients waiting for a first CAHMS appointment.

The month with the greatest number of young people waiting for an appointment across 2019 and 2020 was May, 2020, with 625 children and adolescents.

The number of patients waiting for an appointment begins to decrease from May, with numbers falling gradually in June (572), July (546) and August (504).

The number of patients waiting for a CAHMS appointment at the end of last September fell to 370, while October and November saw 293 and 276 patients waiting, respectively.

Pressures on mental health services have been around since before the pandemic, which can be seen from the preceding December, 2019 figure, which showed 502 people were waiting for a first CAHMS appointment.