CHILDREN’S PSYCHIATRISTS IN Ireland feel less motivated and more stressed in their work since the publication of the Maskey report, a study published in the Irish Medical Journal has found. 

The Maskey report – published last year – found that 46 children accessing the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in South Kerry suffered significant harm, and 227 were put at risk of harm because of the over-prescription of medication by a junior child psychiatrist. 

The review was carried out by UK consultant Dr Sean Maskey. It found that factors contributing to failings in the South Kerry service included clinicians working long hours, unequal distribution of work, and overall poor staffing levels. 

A nationwide audit has been carried since then, which found failings in the system as whole, but also that the South Kerry service was an outlier in terms of issues with the quality of care it offered. 

A survey of 102 of the 160 senior registrars and consultants in CAMHS has found that staff morale within the service has been hurt by “very negative” portrayals of it in the media since the publication of the Maskey Report. 

67% of the respondents reported that they have felt a decrease in motivation, and 82% reported an increase in stress levels. 
92.2% of the psychiatrists who completed the survey (a group consisting of mainly public, CAMHS outpatient staff) said that they believe the Maskey Report has worsened the patient/caregiver perception of CAMHS, and 71% said it worsened this group’s perception of the specific service they were attending. 
87.3% of the clinicians reported that in their view, the media reporting on the CAMHS crisis was “unbalanced” and “overwhelmingly negative” about CAMHS. 
62.7% described their workload as unmanageable, while 78.4% said the overall staffing levels in their workplace are below average. 

The Maskey report was covered widely by news outlets last year. The Irish Examiner described the service as “quite possibly broken”, the study says, while the Irish Independent described CAMHS as “unsafe”, it adds. 

Similar comments were also made by politicians and officials. Micheál Martin said that the report was a “damning indictment” of health services, while the Children’s Ombudsman said the “lack of consistency” within CAMHS, as revealed in the report, was “dangerous”. 

The authors of the study, that surveyed psychiatrists about working in the service since the report was published said that the worries of clinicians, who feel that the public and patient perspective of their workforce has worsened, could affect recruitment and retainment within CAMHS long-term. 

“Negative media press may be a barrier to improving recruitment and retaining out existing mental health workforce,” the report sets out. 

It adds that negative attitudes towards a service can affect the dropout rates amongst patience, and increase nonadherence to treatment plans. 

The report emphasises that while it is important to “identify shortcomings in healthcare services”, research has found that negative media press can affect the motivation of medical professionals, and act as a barrier towards recruiting more workers in mental health services. 

In the view of the study’s authors, CAMHS not only needs “dedicated resourcing”, but it also needs a “championed and motivated workforce”. 

The survey and analysis was carried out by L. Bond from Children’s Hospital Ireland at Crumlin, and F. McNicholas.