Nearly 300 children and young people await psychiatric care
Tuesday 8th September 2026 on 09:46 in
Faroe Islands
Some 300 children and young people are waiting for psychiatric care in the Faroe Islands, with a waiting time of up to 24 months, KVF reports. The figures were provided by Health Minister Eyðdis Hartmann Niclasen in response to a question from MP Sirið Stenberg.
A total of 292 children and young people are on the waiting list for child and adolescent psychiatry. Those requiring urgent help are seen immediately.
Other waiting times are also long. Adults awaiting an ADHD assessment may wait up to 36 months, while the waiting time for dementia assessments is six months.
There are 811 adults on the ADHD assessment waiting list, 54 on the dementia waiting list and 29 waiting for outpatient psychiatric care. The waiting time for outpatient care is two months.
Niclasen said work was under way on measures to reduce waiting times. One proposal is to transfer maintenance treatment for ADHD and ADD from the hospital service to general practitioners.
The psychiatric centre appointed a new specialist in September. There are currently six specialists working in adult psychiatry, while a 2024 staffing plan calls for 10 specialists in the field.
It is difficult to recruit specialists to permanent positions in child and adolescent psychiatry, the health minister said.