Connacht Tribune
Kids in Galway with ADHD left relying on medicinal treatment alone
Many Galway children diagnosed with ADHD are left relying on medicinal treatment alone in the absence of an adequately resourced Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), according to a local councillor.
City Councillor John Connolly (FF), who is a member of Regional Health Forum West, told the Connacht Tribune that those requiring vital complementary treatments such as psychotherapy and behavioural therapy were languishing on waiting lists and receiving only pharmacological treatment in the interim.
“There is a significant under-resourcing of complementary treatments that CAMHS would like to provide – those working in CAMHS would obviously prefer to provide all the necessary treatments but they aren’t being sufficiently resourced to do so,” said Cllr Connolly.
The Fianna Fáil councillor, who is a teacher by profession, said he has been contacted by parents who felt that once medication was prescribed, no further treatment was then available.
The use of psycho-social therapies in addition to medication could lead to better outcomes in the long-term, he continued.
“There are almost two wating lists for treatment with CAMHS – one is the list to get an initial assessment and then after that, when you get into the system, you are placed on another waiting list to access psycho-social treatment. After the initial assessment, medicine is discussed with the parents and they feel that is the treatment that’s being offered,” said Cllr Connolly.
“They’re not seeing the complementary treatments because CAMHS don’t have the resources and even though they have a fantastic facility in Merlin Park, they need more resources put in.”
Following queries to the service, Cllr Connolly was informed by the Chief Officer of Community Healthcare West, Breda Crehan Roche, that there were 1,149 children attending CAHMS for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) treatment in the Galway-Roscommon area.
“Pharmacological treatment of ADHD is only one part of the BioPsychoSocial approach to treatment of the illness, so in no case would it be considered the single most appropriate treatment for ADHD,” said Ms Crehan Roche.
Cllr Connolly said referrals to the service were broken down into ‘emergency’, ‘urgent’ and ‘routine’, and “thankfully emergency and urgent cases are dealt with quite quickly”.
Some 601 routine referrals to CAMHS were made in 2021, an increase from 347 the previous year which was already up on the 2019 figure.
“I don’t think any parent would consider this service routine and while I know CAMHS has to prioritise, if you are the parent of a child who isn’t mixing with other children; has behavioural issues at school; or has developed poor eating habits, the last place you want to be is on a waiting list,” said Cllr Connolly.
The HSE West could not provide an average time for patients awaiting an initial appointment and Cllr Connolly said this was as a result of CAMHS still operating on a paper-based system.
“It’s unbelievable that in 2022, CAMHS does not have any method of recording this patient data electronically,” he added.
“I’ve been told that even to get the referral numbers, they have to call each service-provider to see how many are on the books.
“CAMHS deals with children and adolescents up to the age of 18 and I understand that many of their patients are aged between 14 and 18. I feel with ADHD, if intervention was happening sooner, it could well reduce that case load in the future,” said Cllr Connolly.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
