Parents have hit out after NHS Tayside revealed it is refusing most new referrals for children suspected to have conditions like autism and ADHD.
The health board’s CAMHS service is no longer accepting neurodevelopmental referrals unless the youngster already has another “significant and impairing” mental health condition.
It comes as NHS chiefs are trying to tackle a huge backlog in existing cases.
Those who have already had referrals accepted are not affected.
The health board is now directing families to online resources and says children can receive additional support at school.
After The Courier revealed the move on Wednesday, there was a huge backlash from parents.
Many fear the impact on families and schools.
And several say the pressure on the system is also affecting children who have already been assessed.
‘The onus is completely on the schools – this is so wrong’
Nada Wilson, from Brechin, told The Courier she has been fighting for support for her 11-year-old son since he was four.
She said: “Something needs to happen for our children.
“I’m devastated that this has happened.
“Basically, the onus is completely on the schools now and this is so wrong.
“It’s not just kids that need support but our kids’ teachers.
“They are with our kids for a huge chunk of their lives, and the pressure that’s upon them to navigate each day with challenging behaviours is extreme.
“I am so thankful that my son is at such a supportive school but the bottom line is that we are guessing what he’s living with.
“How do we support him without an accurate assessment?”
Another Brechin mum, Michaela Robertson, has told The Courier the move will cause “carnage”.
She said: “I have three children on the spectrum but only one has been assessed and formally diagnosed – 11 years after I first voiced my concerns.
“He is now coming up for 14 and I am receiving no support for him despite numerous ongoing issues.
“I now don’t expect that help to be available in the future through CAMHS at all.”
Michaela fears her other two children – aged 12 and six, who she says are also showing signs of autism and ADHD – will never get a diagnosis.
She said: “My six-year-old son displays several severe traits and we are still waiting for a diagnosis.
“We are waiting for an assessment from the paediatric unit at Whitehills Hospital in Forfar and only once you get that can you be referred to CAMHS, but that may not happen now.
“My fear is paediatrics don’t diagnose him and we end up having to go through CAMHS, which is not taking on any new referrals, so where do we go from there?
“The whole system is a shambles.”
Perth mum Arlene Moran, whose son was diagnosed with ADHD in 2012, said: “My son has no mental health condition alongside so he wouldn’t get on that waiting list now.
“I’m not afraid to admit that some of those days in the years we waited for two ADOS (autism diagnostic observation schedule) assessments were dark because we had no real support.
“My son’s long, drawn-out process of the CAMHS system nearly broke my family apart at times.”
‘It’s simply not true that you don’t need a diagnosis to get support’
She added: “On the CAMHS Facebook page they posted a video and it states that you don’t need a formal diagnosis to get support – this simply is not true.
“Support is so underfunded in schools that many of these kids are sitting in a learning base drawing or on their phones, not catching up on work.
“When my child was that child, he was doodling when he could have been doing homework with support.”
One other mum, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her child, told us: “This decision is going to leave many parents with no chance of getting their child assessed or diagnosed and then potentially without the proper support as their child grows.”
Several readers responded to the news on The Courier and Evening Telegraph Facebook pages.
One reader said: “The next option is to go private, which is already expensive, and watch the prices go up dramatically.
“Parents are going to get themselves in debt to get what’s best for their kids, and then what if the doctor doesn’t support private diagnosis?”
Another parent wrote: “Schools are already vastly overstretched and understaffed, they are only able to support the kids that struggle in school and not the kids that are struggling at home/are not attending school.”
NHS Tayside CAMHS says children can access ‘many forms of support’
NHS Tayside’s CAMHS service has blamed a “sharp increase” in referrals for its “extensive waiting list”.
A statement added: “As a result, we have had to carefully consider how we safely prioritise patients to ensure we carry out the primary role of CAMHS, which is to assess and treat children and young people with significant and impairing mental health concerns.
“While a formal assessment and diagnosis can provide a clearer understanding of certain patterns of behaviour, it is important to know that it is not necessary in order to access many forms of support, including additional support within school.
“We know that navigating concerns about your child’s development can feel overwhelming, and we want to ensure you have the right support and guidance.”
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