Delays to mental health treatment in England ‘putting more children in care’

Delays to NHS treatment have led to an increasing number of emotionally troubled children being taken into care because their condition deteriorated to the point where their parents could no longer cope with their behaviour, according to Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) president Steve Crocker.

“We are seeing children in the social care system because they have not been supported in the [NHS] mental health system,” he said.

Crocker urged ministers to “do better” for children facing “unacceptable” delays in NHS mental health treatment, adding that it was not uncommon for waiting lists to involve waits of over a year.

Full story in The Guardian, 14 December 2022