The demand for psychological assessments for autism and assessment of need has exploded. Photograph: Alan Betson
Twenty-eight thousand children on primary care psychology waiting lists. In some areas they are waiting up to 13 years.
Unbelievable, ineffable; a reservoir of human suffering and missed opportunities, bursting, every day. Primary care psychology is simply overwhelmed. Why has this happened and what can be done?
Primary care is the front line of health services, the first point of contact; it is where most health care happens. Primary care psychologists practise across disability, mental health, medical problems, maternal and child care, rehabilitation, older people and palliative care.
Our widely agreed national health policy – Sláintecare – is committed to providing more services in the community, to prevent and respond quickly to health problems as they arise. The clear reluctance to adequately resource this gives rise to the misguided rhetoric that positions health as a cost that needs to be contained, rather than an investment
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