Answers to Questions

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

134 The Hon. C. BONAROS (30 April 2019).

1. What has been the total expenditure on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in each financial year:

(a) 2014-15;

(b) 2015-16;

(c) 2016-17;

(d) 2017-18;

2. What has been the total expenditure on CAMHS for each financial year from 2014-15 to 2017-18, broken down by location of service?

3. What is:

(a) the total budget allocation to CAMHS in financial year 2018-19; and

(b) total allocation broken down by location of service?

4. What is the capacity number of young people that CAMHS can currently service?

5. How many young people currently receive ongoing services from CAMHS?

6. What is the current median wait time for new patients to CAMHS?

7. How many young people were:

(a) turned away from CAMHS in financial year 2017-18? and

(b) referred to other services in financial year 2017-18?

8. What plans does the government have to improve the quality and quantity of the CAMHS?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing): I have been advised:

Total expenditure on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) over the past five years is:

As at 2 May 2019, CAMHS had 3,469 individual active clients receiving a service.

As of March 2019, median wait time for new community-based clients to CAMHS is 13 days from referral to first face-to-face appointment.

In the financial year 2017-18, there were 6,422 referrals to CAMHS, of these 2,910 referrals were accepted for long-term therapy and 3,512 were either clinically managed (short term) or referred to or supported to engage with another service as clinically indicated.

CAMHS has developed and is enacting a new model of care that offers mental health services for infants, children and young people with moderate to severe, complex emotional, behavioural and mental health difficulties, including a number of sub-specialities.

CAMHS has employed a lived experienced consultant and continues to develop the role of lived experience (consumer/carers) within the organisational governance framework.

CAMHS is implementing a new organisational structure to provide improved clinical governance through:

the appointment of a Clinical Director and Medical Unit Head positions for clinical oversight of practice;

the development of an education and training centre to support evidence based, age appropriate mental health staff training;

development of nursing and allied health senior clinical leadership roles and a mix of multidisciplinary clinical roles across services for clinical practice review to support client care;

an increase in the number of permanent Aboriginal roles to support access for Aboriginal clients into Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Services will be further improved through the creation of a single Centralised Triage Service to provide a consistent entry point and standardised referral management across CAMHS, and restructuring CAMHS Consultation Liaison Services 'clinical reach' across the Women's and Children's Hospital Local Health Network, Flinders Medical Centre and the Lyell McEwin Hospital. This will support access to mental health care for children and adolescents experiencing mental health issues in the context of their acute or chronic illness, injury or disability.