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More needs to be done on children’s mental health, says Mental Health Network and NHS Confederation
Sean Duggan, chief executive of the Mental Health Network, and Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare system, responded to the Green Paper on children’s mental health
"Not before time government has turned its attention to the mental health of children and young people, and with extra money we may see results. But more needs to be done more quickly as these plans will only reach a minority of schools by 2022.
“And it is not just about money. New teams and roles to support children and young people are a step in the right direction but they need to be part of a wider, strategic workforce plan. Mental health services cannot recruit the staff they need now, and we must make sure we have the right staff with the right skills in the right places to carry out these new roles.
“We will watch the four-week waiting time pilot with interest - it has to be right that children and families can access the care and support they need, but it will be an empty promise if local services providers do not have the resources to deliver this target.
“Treatments should be evidence based and so we welcome the commissioning of further research into what works in child and adolescent mental health services.
“We do know there is already excellent work taking pace - Mental Health Network members Place2Be have been providing outstanding emotional support to children in schools for more than 20 years.”
Government proposals on children and young people's mental health
