JERSEY’S child mental-health service is dealing with more than twice the number of young people per head than services in the UK, according to a new report which raises fresh concerns about mounting pressure on frontline care.
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service annual report for 2025 revealed that 4,208 children per 100,000 population are currently on the service’s caseload – more than double the national median.
Children’s Minister Richard Vibert acknowledged the growing strain, saying services were having to respond to “increasingly complex presentations” while demand continues to rise.
“Our services have continued to evolve to meet rising levels of need, while strengthening our focus on early intervention, timely access to support, and high‑quality care for those who need more specialised help,” he said.
Meanwhile, associate director Darren Bowring warned of “further pressures” across the system, pointing to rising inpatient admissions and increasing numbers requiring specialist eating disorder treatment.
The report shows that 63 young people required admission to Robin Ward in 2025, accounting for 470 bed nights, as well as six admissions to Orchard Ward and inpatient eating disorder treatment.
Mr Bowring said these pressures – alongside long-standing backlogs – would remain “key areas to address”.
The report also highlighted continuing concerns around access to ADHD treatment.
CAMHS and the adult mental health service have been pushing for “shared prescribing” arrangements since 2023.
This approach – which is used in other jurisdictions, including Guernsey – allows GPs to handle routine prescribing of ADHD medication after a patient has been initially assessed and diagnosed by a specialist.
The move to shared prescribing would involve adding ADHD treatments to a “white list” of medications that are available to patients at no charge through the Health Insurance Fund.
But any change would require approval from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee and later Social Security Minister, as well as backing from GPs.
The CAMHS report said the service was “disappointed” that the committee recently stopped short of approving a shared prescribing model – despite accepting that the current system is “deficient, causing anxiety for patients and inefficiencies in service provision”.
“CAMHS believes that the shared care prescribing of ADHD medication would make a significant difference for young people and families in receipt of medication,” the report said. “CAMHS will continue to advocate for shared prescribing of ADHD medications.”
There was a total of 907 new referrals to CAMHS last year – down from a peak of 1,110 in 2023 and a decrease from the 937 in 2024.
Of those, 604 new patients were accepted into the service during 2025 – an acceptance rate of 67%. This is the lowest acceptance rate in the data since 2018.
Children referred for autism or ADHD assessments face an average wait of nearly 17 months, despite record numbers of assessments being completed.
A total of 678 ADHD and autism diagnostic assessments were completed last year, compared to 425 in the previous year.
At the same time, 61% of the active caseload is now linked to neurodevelopmental pathways, largely driven by ongoing treatment and medication needs.
Despite the mounting pressures, Jersey remains one of the fastest services to access in the UK, with initial assessments completed in an average of 32 days – beating the 36-day target.
And while complaints persist around communication and waiting times, many families described care as “life-changing”, praising staff for their compassion and expertise.
