Children’s Commissioner
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Children’s Commissioner calls for urgent action to tackle waiting times and inequality in mental health care for children
The Children’s Commissioner’s annual report on the state of children’s mental health services highlights huge inequalities when it comes to accessing support, with some young people waiting up to 17 times longer than others depending on where they live.
- Demand for children’s mental health services continues to increase, outstripping investment
- More children with referrals began treatment in 2023-24 than the previous year – but numbers still waiting for treatment by the end of the year jumped by 50,000
- Black children, older teenagers and girls among groups most likely to be referred for mental health crises – and data exposes deep regional inequalities to treatment for all children
- New analysis reveals higher waiting times for treatment when looking at children’s direct contact with professionals only
- Children’s Commissioner calls for renewed focus and investment in children’s mental health services, through the NHS 10 Year Plan
In her fourth annual report, Dame Rachel de Souza sets out children’s experiences with mental health services in England as data from 2023-24 shows nearly 60,000 children in England were referred for being ‘in crisis’ – more than 6% of all those referred to children’s mental health services that year – and 50,000 more children with active referrals were still waiting for treatment to begin at the end of March 2024.
Releasing the analysis to mark the end of Mental Health Awareness Week, Dame Rachel has urged health professionals and politicians to put children at the heart of the forthcoming NHS 10 Year Plan – because previous research[1] by the office shows children with additional vulnerabilities are often the ones most at risk of missing out on education.
This must be backed by a drive to end regional health inequalities, improve data on children’s health and review routes to diagnosis to reduce waiting times and introduce a shared definition of health conditions accepted by professionals across England.
Yesterday’s report finds children in England awaiting treatment for mental health conditions face a mixed picture, despite real terms increases in investment in Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) and fewer referrals being closed before children receive treatment.
Click here for the full press release
Original article link: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/news/press-notice-childrens-commissioner-calls-for-urgent-action-to-tackle-waiting-times-and-inequality-in-mental-health-care-for-children/
