Almost half of Donegal CAMHS referrals rejected - Donegal News

HSE figures have revealed that out of a total of 578 referrals made in Donegal during the first eight months of 2026, some 261 were rejected.

THE number of rejected referrals for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Donegal has been described as “staggering”.

HSE figures have revealed that out of a total of 578 referrals made during the first eight months of 2026, some 261 were rejected.

This means rejections accounted for approximately 45.2 per cent or almost half of all referrals.

A further breakdown of the figures shows that out of 196 referrals in Inishowen, 81 were rejected. In Donegal North, 225 referrals were received and 121 were rejected. Donegal South saw 157 referrals, of which 59 were rejected.

The figures were provided during today’s meeting of the Regional Health Forum West and North West in response to a query from Independent councillor Declan Meehan.

“What we’ve been presented with here in the response is a staggering figure: that 45 per cent of referrals to CAMHS in Donegal have been rejected by the multidisciplinary teams,” said Cllr Meehan. “That’s a huge figure; it’s almost half of all referrals.”

He told the meeting that he has been contacted by both families and GPs on the issue. Cllr Meehan raised one example of a GP who reported a rejected CAMHS referral for a child who presented with suicidal ideation.

“We have a very serious issue here where there are potentially young people who should be under the care of the CAMHS team in Donegal that are being rejected at a rate of almost one in two,” said Cllr Meehan.

He described CAMHS rejection rates in Donegal as “especially high” and questioned how such cases would not meet the “moderate to severe” criteria.

“If that doesn’t register as an essential criteria for a referral to CAMHS, I’m not sure what is,” said Cllr Meehan. “And if this is the type of case that’s being refused at the multidisciplinary team meetings where they assess the referrals, then we have to ask: are the multidisciplinary teams actually triaging, or are they rationing referrals into CAMHS in Donegal?”

He called for an independent review and audit of CAMHS referrals to examine decision-making and identify reasons for the rejection rate.

“This is a critical issue for young people’s mental health, for the correct and appropriate treatment that they would receive for young people experiencing mental ill health, and it’s a critical issue for their families as well. I think that this needs to be looked at urgently.”

Cllr Meehan also questioned the current wait times for children in each area of the county.

As of August 31, 2026, there were 162 children on the CAMHS waiting list in Donegal. This figure is highest in Donegal North, where there were 96 children on the waiting list.

In response, Head of Service Primary Care CHO1, Amanda Doyle, informed that an independent audit has already commenced in Donegal which focuses on internal processes including referrals, pathways and interventions by multidisciplinary teams (MDTs).

“That’s being led by our executive clinical director (ECD) and then also our regional clinical director of mental health services for children,” she said.

“In relation to our wait times for across the area of Donegal, we know where our focus needs to be in the coming months in relation to children and families. Donegal North is one particular area that we have focused in on and have put measures in place for both short-term and long-term benefits for families and children, and indeed our teams working for those families.”

Ms Doyle further explained that the number of children waiting for assessment for over 12 months in Donegal North has fallen from 10 at the end of August down to three due to a reassignment of resources.

She added: “We have put out for recruitment a team coordinator for North who will look at the activity base, our referrals, looking at our pathways onwards to other services, be it primary care, CDNT, or any of our voluntary sectors that are more best placed to provide services for those children and families if the children do not meet the criteria for clinically for CAMHS services.”

Ms Doyle acknowledged the “disproportionate” waiting lists in Donegal.

“However, we are taking measures on a short-term basis and long-term basis to address that through the use of a service improvement plan,” she said.

Ms Doyle added that an intellectual disability (ID) consultant has also been employed for children who would not receive the “appropriate services” through CAMHS.

She noted that approximately half of referrals in Donegal are for suspected Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and that a pathway is under development to provide for quicker diagnosis and treatment.

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