505 children referred for mental health services last year

Malta's child and adolescent mental health services received 505 referrals for various conditions last year, figures tabled in parliament show.

Referrals for anxiety, depression and related conditions accounted for 103 cases, with the remaining 402 for ADHD and autism assessments.

The 2025 referrals, included 202 that came from Child Development Assessment Unit and 303 from GPs and paediatricians. The referrals were for 282 boys and 223 girls.

There were 194 children between the ages of 4 and nine, 143 between 10 and 14, and 168 between 15 and 18.

Health Minister Ian Borg tabled the figures on 5 October in reply to a parliamentary question from Labour MP Romilda Zarb. She had asked about new cases at the services once known as the Child and Young People's Services (CYPS), now part of the Child and Adolescent Services (CAYS).

Zarb asked for new referrals over 10 years, year by year and by gender.

Referrals for all reasons totalled 408 in 2016, rising to 598 in 2019—the highest figure in the 10-year period. They fell to 407 in 2020 and 386 in 2021, then climbed again to 464 in 2022, 567 in 2023 and 580 in 2024. Last year, 505 cases were referred to CAYS.

CAYS states on its website that children in Malta experience, on average, a higher prevalence of physical and mental health complaints than children in other EU countries. It cites the World Health Organisation as saying half of all mental health conditions begin by the age of 14, many of them undetected and untreated.

The Ministry for Health’s Mental Health Strategy for Malta 2020-2030, published in July 2019, sets out a framework for mental health care and promotion across the population, with a specific focus on prevention and promotion for children and adolescents.