Child mental health services ‘at breaking point’

Psychiatrists say child mental healthcare services are at ‘breaking point’ across NSW.

Kasia Kozlowska from the Department of Psychological Medicine has called for urgent action regarding the ­Sydney Children’s Hospital ­Network’s ability to deal with the “massive increase” in demand for mental healthcare.

Child mental healthcare services are at “breaking point” across NSW, with psychiatrists at the state’s primary hospital network for children saying it is “only a matter of time” before there is an adverse outcome.

Critics of the management of mental healthcare at the Psychological Medicine Service, which covers the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney’s west and the Sydney Children’s Hos­pital in the east, say hospitals are being stretched beyond capacity.

In newly leaked minutes obtain­ed by The Australian from a meeting betwee­n 106 medical staff from the two hospitals and NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard on March 23, Kasia Kozlowska from the Department of Psychological Medicine called for urgent action regarding the ­Sydney Children’s Hospital ­Network’s ability to deal with the “massive increase” in demand for mental healthcare.

According to the minutes, the senior psychiatrist told Mr Haz­zar­d that, despite a rise in emergency department presentations, psychiatrist staffing across the network had slumped to an “all-time low”. “What has happened for our service to reach breakdown point?” Dr Kozlowska said.

“The population has grown but funding has not. Children are presenting with more complex problems.”

The issues, including limited staffing and lack of acute beds, are understood to have begun in 2013 but the situation came to a head last year when six psychiatrists resigne­d within 10 months after they “could no longer provide the kids and families with safe care” and had “reached a point of exhaustion”.

“We began to signal the problem five years ago. We have not (been) heard. We signalled and signalled. We were not heard,” the minutes read.

“Child psych­i­atrist staffing is now at an all-time low. We needed help, so we went to ASMOF (Australian Salaried Medical Office­rs Federation).

“We need help now, so we are presenting here to today. We are at breaking point. We cannot provid­e NSW children, teenagers and families with the mental health treatment they need.

“It is only a matter of time before there is an adverse outcome.”

Dr Kozlowska asked Mr Hazzar­d to provide an “emergency assessment and intervention team” to deal with the increasing number of children and teenagers presenting with suicide attempts, acute depression, psychosis and acute distress.

“Alongside any funding, we need a clear public message from the minister that he and NSW Health care about and support and will continue to support ­hospital-based mental health service­s,” it reads.

A network spokeswoman said while psychiatrist shortages were being felt across Australia, SCHN would welcome three more child psychiatrists in the new year.

Mr Hazzard was unavailable for comment.