Talnabrunnur – Issue 4 2026

-Automatic translation

Waiting times for children’s mental health services in Iceland are long and can significantly harm children’s well-being and development. Waiting times for services at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Department (BUGL), where children with the most complex and severe conditions receive care, have decreased considerably in recent years and are now, positively, within the Directorate of Health’s benchmarks for access to healthcare. However, waiting times for services at the Children’s Mental Health Centre have increased substantially over the same period, suggesting that the challenge has partly shifted between service providers.

Reforms are underway to improve access, simplify care pathways, and ensure equitable services across the country. The Directorate of Health emphasizes the need to accelerate these changes to better meet the needs of children with mental health challenges.

The authors of the article are Agnes Gísladóttir, Henný Hraunfjörð and Karl Reynir Einarsson.

More information
Kjartan Hreinn Njálsson, Assistant to the Medical Director of Health
kjartan.h.njalsson@landlaeknir.is