{"id":305034,"date":"2026-02-27T15:15:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/305034\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T15:15:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:15:13","slug":"childrens-mental-health-waiting-list-cut-after-4m-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/305034\/","title":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s mental health waiting list cut after \u00a34m investment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just over \u00a34m has been invested in improving mental health<\/a> support for children<\/a> and young people in the Isle of Man.<\/p>\n

The investment has tackled waiting lists and transformed services<\/a>, ensuring more young people are receiving the right support at the right time.<\/p>\n

The island\u2019s Child and Adolescent Mental Health<\/a> Service (CAMHS) has experienced unprecedented demand in recent years which had led to a significant increase in waiting times.<\/p>\n

In December 2024 we reported how the service was being \u2018overwhelmed\u2019 by inquiries from families about assessment and treatment.<\/p>\n

At the start of the CAMHS Transformation Project, 819 young people were on the waiting list, with many facing delays of up to two and a half years for neurodiverse assessments.<\/p>\n

All 819 were contacted and 616 young people (64%) received assessments.<\/p>\n

Impressively, 703 young people (86%) have now been either discharged or are actively receiving treatment. <\/p>\n

Manx Care<\/a> said this work has contributed to a significant reduction in waiting times, with neurodiverse assessments dropping from 2.5 years to around one year, a meaningful improvement for families seeking timely support. <\/p>\n

It said that the project to improve mental health support for children and young people had reached a \u2018major milestone\u2019.<\/p>\n

The investment has included a partnership with Isle Listen to launch a single point of access service called Talk, which provides psychological support for young people with mild to moderate mental health needs. <\/p>\n

\"Ross<\/p>\n

Ross Bailey, general manager for Integrated Mental Health Services (N\/A)<\/p>\n

Ross Bailey, general manager for Integrated Mental Health Services, said: \u2019This \u00a34m investment has been fundamental in allowing us to transform how children and young people access mental health support.<\/p>\n

\u2018By reducing waiting times, strengthening early intervention and working closely with partners such as Isle Listen\u2019s Talk Service, we are seeing real and lasting improvements for families across the island.\u2019<\/p>\n

Announced in June 2024, the \u00a34m funding<\/a> was secured to reduce long waits for assessment and treatment, strengthen early intervention, and improve access to psychological support for children and young people.<\/p>\n

In several parts of the UK, average waiting times for ADHD assessments extend to approximately four years, and autism assessments to around two and a half years. <\/p>\n

In contrast, routine neurodiversity assessments in the Isle of Man are now typically complete within one year.<\/p>\n

Since its launch in June 2025, Talk has quickly become a vital part of the support system.<\/p>\n

Between June and December last year, it received 906 referrals of which 403 were accepted by Talk and 296 referred to CAMHS. Some 63 were signposted to other appropriate services.<\/p>\n

Crucially, Talk has helped streamline access, achieving an average referral-to-assessment time of just six days, and nine days from assessment to treatment pathway; setting a new standard for timely mental health care.<\/p>\n

Andrea Chambers, CEO of Isle Listen said: \u2018This programme has shown the real impact of early intervention and joined-up working, ensuring children and young people can access the right support quickly and without unnecessary barriers.\u2019<\/p>\n

The CAMHS waiting list project concluded in January this year, but the Talk service continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just over \u00a34m has been invested in improving mental health support for children and young people in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[134,554,555,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-305034","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-mental-health","10":"tag-mentalhealth","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}