A parent, who claimed her child was neglected by mental health staff at Highland Council, has said early intervention would have prevented the deterioration of her daughter’s health.
The parent – who asked for anonymity to protect her child’s identity – said she had twice called on the organisation to intervene, but the authority’s failure to do so had led to her child advancing from tier one of a four-level ranking system to tier three.
The parent said: “The service has let my daughter down.
“My daughter was twice rejected for referral to tier two, and now she has been referred to tier three.
“If they had just listened and given her the help she needed, her health would not have deteriorated to where it is now.
“This could be life-threatening. My daughter’s health falls into the more serious bracket and all we ever wanted was for her to receive the help that she needs.”
The Primary Mental Health Worker (PMHW) service is part of the Additional Support Needs (ASN) structure of Highland Council.
In the most recent report, which assessed the standards and quality of the primary mental health worker service, it was estimated that one in 10 children aged between five and 16 have a diagnosable mental illness.
The parent added: “I feel we have been completely fobbed off.
“They have got to realise this is a significant illness and should be treated in that way.”
In correspondence received from the authority, the parent was told by Bernadette Cairns, Highland Council’s principal educational psychologist, that the mental health of children and young people was a “high priority”.
However, it added that, due to staff shortages, “the service has not been as responsive as it would like to be.”
The letter, dated September 30, also revealed that, across Highland, only six of the 11 roles as Primary Mental Health Workers were occupied – neglecting dozens of vital health services across the region.
The parent added: “I was quite shocked with the response.
“It just shows that there is a bigger gap in the mental health service for children than initially thought.”
A Highland Council spokeswoman responded that the local authority could not comment on any individual’s circumstances.
But she confirmed that three of the vacancies have since been filled, with the organisation “currently in the process of recruiting the remaining two posts.”
