People looking to access the SASSY (Substance Abuse Services Specific to Youth) project in north inner city Dublin on average wait up to between six and eight weeks for an assessment, as the service struggles to deal with demand.
Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at SASSY, Dr Gerry McCarney, said the service dealt with 103 referrals last year and 73 clients, an increase on the figure for 2008.
One of those seen by the service last year was just 12 years old, while 23 people failed to show up for their first appointment, illustrating the chaotic backdrop against which many of the clients are living their lives.
Dr McCarney said he was concerned that the current staff at the SASSY project – he and a colleague, plus some administrative help – was insufficient to reach some vulnerable teenagers using drugs.
"Really where we fail are those who come in once or twice and then drop away."
Clients should be seen within two or three weeks of referral, he said, but staff limitations mean it is usually six to eight weeks.
Statistics for 2009 show that SASSY continued to see 41 previous attendees from 2008 to 2009, bringing the total number of clients seen to 114.
Of those, 85% of clients were between the ages of 15 and 17, inclusive, and overall more than half of all clients (55%) were engaged in polydrug use.
Almost 60% were using alcohol, but just 4% were using alcohol only.
The drug with the greatest attraction for teenagers was cannabis, with 35% of those referred to SASSY experiencing problems with that drug on its own, while overall 88% of clients were using it.
BDZ, or benzodiazepines, were used by 38% of all clients, while 32% used cocaine – a fall on the percentage of users in 2008.
Just under a quarter of clients used ecstasy and the remaining 12% was split among different substances, including 3% who were using heroin.
The fall in cocaine use is probably down to its relative expense and a drop in supply, Dr McCarney said, but the fall had been counter-balanced by a growth in the use of "legal highs".
"By far the most noticeable trend is the increasing use of head shop substances by our young attendees," he said. "This was so especially in the last six months. This has had a definite impact on their behaviour – chaotic and aggressive, self-harming and violent – and their mental state, with psychotic symptoms and mood swings."
Other statistics show the male to female ratio of clients has grown to four to one.
Last year the Irish Examiner revealed how €800,000 allocated by the Department of Health to SASSY to fill staff positions was used elsewhere by the HSE.
Source: Noel Baker, The Irish Examiner, 08/03/2010
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