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Psychiatrists and the mental health system

Posted By jazzcm48

"Psychiatrists and the mental health system"

About: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service NMHS Mental Health Rockingham CAMHS

(as a service user),

My child, a young adult, has had the unfortunate experience of being stuck in the middle of the different agencies to help with their mental health. Too old for CAMHS and too young for the adult side.

So after a few visits to the ED for overdoses and mental health crisis and self-medicating, we finally got a referral to a local psychiatrist privately who assisted in diagnosing my child with ADHD and borderline personality disorder and commenced on non-stimulating medication and mood stabilisers. These have helped enormously, however, they felt my child needed to be on a stimulating ADHD medication which they have applied for.

Unfortunately, by accident, I found out that psychiatrist is no longer seeing clients and that we have to go back to our GP for another referral to a psychiatrist. I have phoned numerous ones in Perth, Mandurah and locally, only to be told the waitlist is April/May! So we are now unable to obtain the medication my child requires as it’s under strict prescribing laws as it’s a scheduled medication!  

I do not want my child to slide down the slippery slope they were on before and it’s very difficult trying to motivate them to see anyone new as they have anxiety and it took a long time for them to trust and open up to the old psychiatrist.

Where on earth is the funding that the Mental Health services were promised and what do we do when the children are not young enough for a children's hospital but too young for the adult side? We have spent thousands out of pocket privately to try and help my child, only to be back to square one. It’s so frustrating and demoralising.

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Responses

Response from Roslyn Elmes, Executive Director, Mental Health, Public Health & Dental Services, North Metropolitan Health Service 4 years ago
Roslyn Elmes
Executive Director, Mental Health, Public Health & Dental Services,
North Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 17/12/2020 at 10:59 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 11:00 AM

Dear jazzcm48,

Thank you for taking the time to share your story. I acknowledge that navigating mental health services, over different health service providers both public and private, can be challenging and distressing for young people, as well as their parents and carers. I am very sorry to hear of difficulties you have faced in seeking the best care and treatment for your child, and I commend you for advocating for them.

If your child has not yet had their ADHD diagnosis confirmed, our health service may be able to assist you through the Youth and Adult Complex Attentional Disorders Service (YACADS). YACADS provides an assessment and short-term support for newly diagnosed people with ADHD who will then be supported through our community mental health services. Access to YACADS is through referral by a community mental health service. To find out more about whether this service might be suitable for your child, please contact YACADS at 92274300.

It may also be useful for you to be aware that the Royal Australasian College of Psychiatrists website Your Health in Mind provides a list of private psychiatrists who can prescribe for people with ADHD.

I hope this information is helpful to you and I thank you again for taking the time to bring your concerns to our attention.

Warm regards,

Ros Elmes
Executive Director
Mental Health, Public Health and Dental Services
North Metropolitan Health Service

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Response from Simon Davies, Director, Specialised CAMHS, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, Child & Adolescent Health Service 4 years ago
Simon Davies
Director, Specialised CAMHS, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services,
Child & Adolescent Health Service

Submitted on 17/12/2020 at 12:23 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 12:36 PM

Dear jazzcm48,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, frustrations and concerns in seeking mental health treatment for your child. I acknowledge you feel your child has been allowed to ‘slip through the cracks’ of the mental health system and are rightfully concerned that they are not getting the treatment they need. I am sorry you feel the current mental health system has failed to help your family at this difficult time.

I acknowledge that you are have had difficulties in accessing a child psychiatrist who is able to prescribe stimulants used in ADHD treatment. This has become an issue for some parents of children requiring these medications this year, as demand for child and adolescent psychiatrists has increased dramatically. Once medication has been approved and commenced, GPs are able to prescribe stimulants in between Psychiatrist visits (in some circumstances) under a shared care arrangement, but your child would still need to be under the care of a psychiatrist for this to be possible. Child and adolescent psychiatry is an area of need in Western Australia currently which has resulted in long wait times in the private sector, and some psychiatrists not accepting new patients at all.

I invite you to provide your child’s age to our team at the Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS) via email on cahs.feedback@health.wa.gov.au, so we can have a conversation about options for treatment that might suit your child’s needs. If you would feel more comfortable discussing this over the phone, I would encourage you to contact Rockingham CAMHS on telephone (08) 9528 0555 and ask for the Service Manager. I know she will be happy to talk through options with you both, and suggest some alternative avenues for treatment if your child is over eighteen. I understand your child’s journey so far has been difficult and continually having to seek treatment is fatiguing for all of you. I am hopeful that with support from our staff, your child will get the help they need.

The advice above is to provide help with your child’s ongoing mental health treatment needs. The CAMHS Emergency Telehealth Service (ETS) also provides phone and online videocall support for children and young people who are experiencing a mental health crisis, as well as support and advice for families and carers on 1800 048 636 between 8am and 2:30am, 7 days a week. If you feel your child is in danger at any time, and/or experiencing a mental health crisis, please present to your nearest Emergency Department, or telephone 000. Thank you once again for taking the time to share your experience and I hope you will be in contact very soon.

Kind regards

Simon Davies

A/Service Co-Director

Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services | Child and Adolescent Health Service

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Update posted by jazzcm48 (a service user)

Thank you Ros and Simon for your replies it is much appreciated however YACADS only provides a service if referred by a case manager/ team which my child hasn’t been able to access and a private psychiatrist doesn’t count as it’s a Public Health Service.

I have contacted every ADHD psychiatrist on the health in mind site and they used all for next April time for availability.

I have sat in the offices at Rockingham CAMHS and cried my heart out asking for help only to be told it’s a busy service and I am doing the right things by having my child seek a private psychiatrist and private psychologist.

So we are back at square one.

Response from Simon Davies, Director, Specialised CAMHS, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, Child & Adolescent Health Service 4 years ago
Simon Davies
Director, Specialised CAMHS, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services,
Child & Adolescent Health Service

Submitted on 18/12/2020 at 8:07 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 21/12/2020 at 4:44 PM

Dear jazzcm48,

Thank you for your response, I would like to once again acknowledge the challenging circumstances you are in. Please contact the Service Manager at Rockingham CAMHS on telephone (08) 9528 0555 to arrange a review of your child’s care by senior staff, or via email to cahs.feedback@health.wa.gov.au. We are more than happy to work with you to support you in finding the most appropriate clinical pathway for your child.

Simon Davies

A/Service Co-Director

Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services | Child and Adolescent Health Service

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Response from Roslyn Elmes, Executive Director, Mental Health, Public Health & Dental Services, North Metropolitan Health Service 4 years ago
Roslyn Elmes
Executive Director, Mental Health, Public Health & Dental Services,
North Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 4/01/2021 at 12:18 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 12:19 PM

Dear jazzcm48,

I am sincerely sorry for the experience you have described. I would like to put you in touch with the head of our YACADS service to have a chat to see if there’s any way we can assist your child. Please get in touch with us via MHPHDS.Executiveoffice@health.wa.gov.au so we can arrange this. I hope we hear from you soon so we can endeavour to assist you in any way we can.

Warm regards

Ros Elmes

Executive Director

Mental Health, Public Health and Dental Services

North Metropolitan Health Services

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