"Long wait for children's services in St Helen's"

My daughter was referred to CAMHS last year. She was assessed at the beginning of February. We were told verbally that there would be a bit of a wait, and she probably wouldn't be seen again until April. They were very apologetic about this, but I thought that was OK.

In March we received written confirmation that it 'may take a few months to provide a date' for the appointment.

It is now the middle of May. We've had no further contact from them and my daughter made comments that they'd forgotten about her, so I thought I'd give them a call.

They've said she's still on the list, but it's taking a while to get appointments at the moment. I had to ask her for an estimate - she suggested it won't be before July.

Two comments -

1) Why couldn't they keep in touch so we don't have to guess what's happening? Don't they understand how people feel when they're just kept waiting? We were told April - why am I having to phone in May to get told it won't be before July?

2) Why won't it be until 'at least July'? A six month wait for children's services is unacceptable. What is the cause of such a delay?