• The Public Accounts Committee has published its report on mental health services for children and young people.
• It finds that most people with a mental health condition do not get the treatment they need, while many face long waits for treatment.
• The report finds that getting the right workforce in place is the biggest barrier to the government’s ambitions for children and young people’s mental health services.
• It finds that the NHS has committed to achieving ‘parity of esteem’ between mental and physical health services, but has not defined what the practical, meaningful outcomes are in terms of access to services, waiting times, or patient outcomes.
  
  

Responding to the Public Accounts Committee report on mental health services for children and young people, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said:

“We welcome the Public Account Committee (PAC) report on vital children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), and we were pleased to contribute to it.

“Although progress has been made as a result of the five year forward view for mental health, too many young people and children are waiting too long for NHS mental health treatment. To carry on like this is unsustainable. It is vital that vulnerable young people receive the help they need, when they need it. Delays store up problems for both service users and wider health and care services.

Although progress has been made as a result of the five year forward view for mental health, too many young people and children are waiting too long for NHS mental health treatment. To carry on like this is unsustainable.

Saffron Cordery    Deputy Chief Executive

“The PAC report is right to identify the current workforce shortages facing these services is the most significant barrier to improving access and delivering parity of esteem.

The PAC report is right to identify the current workforce shortages facing these services is the most significant barrier to improving access and delivering parity of esteem.

Saffron Cordery    Deputy Chief Executive

“The NHS long term plan, published this week, has bold ambitions for CAMHS – ensuring that 100% of children and young people can access these services, trailing waiting times targets and ensuring funding for CAMHS grows faster than overall spending on mental health.

“However, as with previous commitments, it is absolutely vital that this funding is earmarked for and reaches the front line and is spent on training and developing the mix of staff we need to meet growing demand for these important services, as well as ensuring that we are working to keep the hard working staff we already have.”