Councillor says long wait means patients are ‘abandoned’

Mental health sufferers are ‘abandoned’ according to a Dudley councillor after hearing they wait four-and-a-half years for a diagnosis.

Cllr Ian Kettle had his say at a meeting of Dudley Council’s Social Care and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee after it was revealed how long adults are waiting for an ADHD assessment after referral from a GP.

The committee was debating plans by the Black Country Healthcare NHS Trust to change how they handle new referrals to cope with rocketing demand.

Cllr Kettle told representatives from the Trust at the meeting: “I couldn’t believe my ears when you said we have got people waiting four-and-a-half years for a service.

“You can’t even consider it a service having to wait four years – surely it’s abandonment.”

Sarah Hogan from the trust told Cllr Kettle in some parts of the country the wait can be up to ten years. She added: “The service is absolutely overwhelmed – by comparison to some counties it is not too bad.”

The Trust is planning a new way of assessing referrals to cope with what they say is an increase in demand of more than 1,000 percent in the past year.

Scott Humphries from the Trust said: “We are receiving 400 to 500 referrals a month with capacity for 80 in our service. This is not an emergency mental health service, it is an assessment service.

“For new referrals it will be a better way of managing them, people will get the right access to a faster diagnosis.”

The new system will be trialled for six months and new referrals will be prioritised if they are people are in the criminal justice system, children entering adulthood, military veterans or people with another condition as well as possible ADHD.

The committee was told people with existing referrals would be contacted by health services and the solution was not just about more funding.

Laura Brookes, from the Trust, said: “The reality nationally is that demand outstrips resources. If we had all the money in the world to put into this there isn’t the additional staff – it is not just a Black Country problem.”