Fiona Tuomey, who lost her 11-year-old daughter Milly to suicide almost eight years ago, believes the latest budget for mental health services is "exceptionally disappointing" as she outlined the deficiencies that continue in this sector.
She said while the Government is dedicated to addressing mental health needs, she believes in real terms it has failed to do so "by the very fact they have given a tiny amount to mental health for 2024".
The 2024 Health Budget will see funding of €1.3bn go towards mental health.
Speaking on RTÉ's Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, Ms Tuomey described her family's painful journey to seek help for Milly before she died tragically in January 2016 and does not think much has changed to improve services.
She said that despite her daughter being acknowledged as an urgent case, an appointment with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) was made for several weeks away. Milly died days before this appointment was due to take place.
Ms Tuomey, who now runs the Suicide Bereavement Charity HUGG, said the path to access these services is exactly the same as it was in 2016.
She said: "The services are still the same. There is still no care outside of 5pm. There is still no care outside of Monday to Friday. And there is still no number for any parent to call if they have a child waiting for a CAMHS service outside the 9-5."
She said she is kept awake at night questioning what could have been done if Milly had received help with the intrusive thoughts.
She said she does not want to alarm people and acknowledges that people want to see changes made to the current system.
'No real alternatives'
"Sadly, that change has not come about. It is only when you are faced with an emergency situation you realise there are no real alternatives available to you," Ms Tuomey said.
She said she hoped Milly would have got through her mental health crisis, but the more important point is "she never got to the starting line".
Ms Tuomey added: "We took the path that is still the path today. We were told to go to our GP which we did. She very clearly told the GP how she was feeling."
They were told the next step would be to get a referral to primary care psychology services but because of a long waiting list to consider taking the private route.
She said during this time they sought the help of various psychologists and when they saw things were deteriorating, they were advised to get a referral into CAMHS, which they did.
She said: "From that time we were waiting for her to be seen as an urgent case. We were given an appointment for the 4th of January.
"So, a couple of weeks we were told to wait even though Milly was an urgent case. And Milly died by suicide on New Year's Day.
"And her life support machine was turned off the day before her first appointment would have been."
Funding call
Minister of State for Mental Health Mary Butler said it is "beyond belief" what Ms Tuomey has gone through regarding her daughter Milly's death and commended her for all the work she has done with HUGG.
Minister Butler said some significant changes and improvements have been made but acknowledged there is more work to be done.
She said: "For example there is now a 24/7 mental health telephone line, not specific to CAMHS, to all mental health. We do have a textline run by Spunout 365 days a year. We now have 75 CAMHS teams in place."
She said 95% of all urgent CAMHS cases are responded to within 72 hours, but said she worries about the 5% who are not responded to.
Minister Butler added, however, that a lot of progress has been made overall in this area.
She said CAMHS hubs which provide online supports have been launched recently, which can help those in more rural areas not having to travel to access these services.
"A lot of this work is contingent on funding," she said, expressing disappointment that more was not allocated for mental health services in Budget 2024.
Labour Party TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin stated "the energy" within the Government is not within this space of service delivery and the focus is more on tax cuts.
Sinn Féin's Louise O'Reilly said the waiting lists are going in the wrong direction and believes the only way people get seen by CAMHS is "if you are in crisis".
She said many parents have told her they have been given advice to take their distressed child to the emergency department which she said is "an absolute disgrace".
If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, visit rte.ie/helplines.
