Young people and expert mental healthcare staff say patients are unlikely to receive in-patient mental health care unless they “have attempted suicide multiple times”, according to a report published today by Look Ahead Care and Support.
Based on in-depth interviews with service users, parents and carers, and NHS and social care staff from across England, the findings draw on experience of treating depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, eating disorders, addiction and psychosis.
The number of children and young people contacting mental health services rose by nearly a third from 2020 to 2021. Data also shows families are increasingly relying on ambulance and police services to deliver mental health support, particularly for those young people aged 16-17.
Launched this morning in the House of Lords, the report – funded by Wates Family Enterprise Trust and produced by experts Care Research – argues Accident and Emergency departments have become an ‘accidental hub’ for children and young people experiencing crisis but are ill-equipped to offer the treatment required.
Accounts from patients and experts indicate that young people suffering the effects of mental health crisis are then frequently placed in unsuitable general paediatric wards alongside younger children, for ongoing medical monitoring.
Where children and young people are referred away from general wards, the report highlights that 55% are looked after in the private sector, where costs for crisis CYPMH services, “are exceptionally high, and do not always support young people in the most effective way”.
Its Chief Executive Chris Hampson says ;
The deep challenges in mental health care crisis provision for young people is setting up a ticking timebomb for mental health services in the future – as young people become vulnerable adults.
The NHS is doing all it can in impossible circumstances, but the result is a service that both costs more than it should and helps too few of those in crisis.
This research shows how much more needs to be done to redirect funds towards early intervention and prevention, in particular through intensive supported housing as an alternative to hospital. These are the community services that can help people before they reach crisis point.”
