Children with mental health problems are waiting up to 18 months to be treated, a government-ordered report will reveal next week, in an indictment of the poor care many receive.
A Care Quality Commission report into child and adolescent mental health services (Camhs) will warn that long delays for treatment are damaging the health of young people with anxiety, depression and other conditions.
The NHS watchdog will conclude that when under-18s in England do get help from the NHS, it is “caring”. However, it will voice alarm that so many of them encounter much difficulty once they are referred by their GP or a teacher at their school.
Experts at the CQC who have drawn up the report, due to be published next Friday, were surprised to find that accessing care took so long and delays occurred in so many parts of England. Children can wait months after referral before their initial assessment and then further months before they start treatment.
Full story in The Guardian, 20 October 2017