One third of children and young people with mental health conditions receive the treatment they need from NHS. Many are turned away because they are not ill enough, others are facing long waits and it could be years before this all changes. Reports show that getting the right staff in the right place was a priority.
The report by Public Accounts Committee said the demand for the mental health service is increasing according to government estimates. An NHS survey done in November 2018 showed one in eight of five to 19-year olds have mental health disorder.
It said it will keep an eye on whether the government’s 10-year plan would be implemented. The 10-year plan was released this week and set out a vision for the health service which focused on preventing ill health. As part of the plan, mental health, GPs and community care received the biggest funding increases. Two-thirds of young people in need of treatment are turned away.
Over the next three years he committee recommended that NHS England provide annual updates on:
- the number of young people referred for treatment, how long they had to wait and the human cost to those who did not receive treatment
- progress in setting up mental health support teams in schools
- updates on expanding the mental health workforce for children and young people
- action to tackle mental health problems earlier in children and young people
Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, said: “The NHS 10-year plan will improve access to CAMHS (children and adolescent mental health services) for more children, but until the government can guarantee that all children will get the specialist help they need, every year thousands of children will still miss out on treatment.
“That will require policies like an NHS-funded counsellor in every school to identify and tackle problems early, and closer parity between what is spent on adult and child mental health services.”
Mental health patients missing GP appointments are at risk.
A study suggests mental health patients who miss two or more GP appointments within the space of a year are eight times more likely to die in 18 months than those who miss none.
The university of Glasgow study looked at 274,547 patients with long-term mental health conditions at surgeries across Scotland between 2013 and 2016. Out of the people who missed appointments 32.1% were addicted to alcohol and drugs. The average age of death amongst these people was 49.
Lead author Ross McQueenie said: “Many people regard patients as being lazy or lethargic if they miss appointments. We think this is generally not the case.
“People aren’t making health appointments for fun. And if they miss an appointment, then their health needs aren’t being met.”
Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, who chairs the Royal College of GPs, said: “People miss appointments for a range of reasons – but this study highlights why it’s more important to show compassion to people who fail to attend, rather than punishing them.
“For some, life gets in the way and they forget but others might not turn up precisely because of their health issue.
“We need systems in place to better accommodate for these situations and the starting point is having more mental health therapists based in primary care, where the majority of mental health issues are identified and managed.
“The NHS long-term plan announced this week guarantees that our profession will receive a significant share of the funding.
“We need these pledges turned into a reality as a matter of urgency.”
