Jersey Population Mental Health Statistics (FOI)

Request

Please provide figures for the current population of Jersey and how many of the population are between the ages of 13 to19.

Also, please provide the percentage of 13 to19 year olds accessing mental health services within the primary or secondary care, as well as the number of individuals currently on the waiting list and the length of time they have been waiting.

Response

Information on the population of Jersey is available on www.gov.je: 

2021 Census - Population by age and gender (opendata.gov.je) 

The population of those aged 13 to 19 (assumed inclusive) at the time of the Census was recorded at 7,299. As this information is publicly available, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

Public mental health services in Jersey are delivered through Children, Young People, Education and Skills’ (CYPES’) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), and Health and Community Services (HCS). There is overlap in service provision between CAMHS and HCS for the 13 to 19 year old demographic, as required to meet individual needs, for continuity of care, care transition, and in line with the scope of services delivered by each of these areas.

CAMHS’ mental health services are directed toward those aged 18 and under. Transition to adult services usually begins at 17 years old.

HCS’ outpatient / community service provision is available to those aged 16 and over. HCS also provide inpatient mental health care through Jersey General Hospital and dedicated mental health facilities to those of all ages.

CAMHS response

Upon receipt of a referral, a record will be created for the individual, and whilst that remains open the individual will be counted in the CAMHS Caseload. The CAMHS caseload includes:

• those who may be waiting for an initial assessment
• those who have had an assessment and are awaiting a particular therapy / service
• those who are in therapy / accessing a service
  

Average waiting time figures indicate how long individuals who have been seen waited for a generic routine initial assessment or a neurodevelopmental assessment (ADHD and autism) from receipt of their referral.

HCS response

Owing to the nature of service provision in HCS, current caseload would not provide a complete picture of activity, particularly in respect of inpatients.

Using the 2021 Census’ population figures for 13 to 19 year olds:

• 0.34% accessed a ‘primary’ HCS service in 2022
  
• 2.75% accessed a ‘secondary’ HCS service in 2022 (including inpatient services)

0.47% of 13 to 19 year olds were admitted for inpatient mental health care through 2022. As noted above, these individuals are included in the percentage of 13 to 19 year olds recorded as accessing ‘secondary’ HCS services.

It is important to note that individuals may require support from a number of teams across HCS’ primary and secondary care provision, which include services focussed towards treatment of specific conditions and / or mental health issues. Where individuals have accessed both ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ services, they will be included in the percentage of population using each service area, so there is overlap in these figures. 

Services identified as ‘primary’ include primary care mental health interventions and Jersey Talking Therapies (JTT). Services identified as ‘secondary’ include all other Community Mental Health Team services provided through Adult Mental Health, and HCS inpatient services where an individual is admitted under a mental health specialty, or admitted to a dedicated mental health facility.

An individual is considered to have accessed HCS services if they have attended at least one appointment (this could be face-to-face or via telephone consultation) in the year.

As of June 2023, 50 people aged 13 to 19 years old are on the waiting list for HCS mental health services.

This response does not include data in respect of people accessing private mental health care, or those accessing third sector care services for which the Government of Jersey does not hold records. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies in this respect.

Articles applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.