Children being turned away from mental health care unless suicidal

Young people are being turned away from mental health care until their problems are so extreme they are at risk of killing themselves, experts say.

A report into mental health services for young people reveals they are ‘chronically underfunded’ and do not have the resources they need.

One third of staff working in the clinics say services are mostly or completely inadequate.

The findings come as research within the past year has shown 800,000 British children have mental health problems and some as young as four are depressed.

The report by the Association of Child Psychotherapists is named ‘Silent Catastrophe’.

 It reveals many children have to be referred over and over again until they reach ‘crisis point’ before they are given help, and that sexual abuse is no longer considered a reason for referral to mental health services on the NHS.  

Even people who ‘may become psychopaths’ are refused help because they do not yet pose a threat to anyone, according to the research.

Children and teenagers are being repeatedly turned away from mental health services unless they pose an ‘immediate risk to life’, a report has revealed

The report surveyed 416 psychotherapists about the UK’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). 

It found children now present the service with more complex, higher risk problems because there is no money for early intervention.

Many referrals are rejected until the person reaches crisis point, and ‘immediate risk to life’ is now considered to be the threshold at which people can be given help.

‘Near misses’ are also reported, in which children who have told medics they will kill themselves are not followed up because people running the service are inexperienced or overwhelmed.

Nearly three quarters of mental health staff – 73 per cent – say morale has changed for the worse.

‘A devastating impact on thousands of families’ 

Dr Marc Bush, head of policy at mental health charity YoungMinds said: ‘Every day we get calls to our helpline from parents whose children have been waiting months for an appointment with CAMHS, or who have been turned down because the thresholds for treatment are so high.

‘The system is overstretched and disjointed, with a devastating impact on thousands of families across the country. 

‘This report rightly draws attention to the need for increased, long-term funding for children’s mental health services across the board, as well as greater recognition of the crucial role that specialists play. 

TEENAGERS ATTEMPTING SUICIDE IN DESPERATE BIDS FOR HELP 

An unnamed headteacher of a school in the UK warned this month that three of her students have attempted suicide to try and get an appointment for help with their mental help. 

Young people are increasingly likely to try to take their own lives as they ‘feel they’re not been taken as seriously as they might be’, the headteacher, who runs a secondary school in south-west England, told the trade teaching magazine Tes. 

Previous research by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) said nearly 25 per cent of children referred to the NHS for mental health treatment are later turned away.

This is often ‘because their condition [is] not considered serious enough or not considered suitable for specialist mental health treatment’, the research added.

A past survey revealed 84 per cent of UK experts believe it has become more difficult for young mental health disorder sufferers to get the help they need. 

There are claims this is due to funding cuts – between 2010 and 2015, NHS spending on children’s mental health services fell by nearly £50m, according to official figures published by The Independent.

‘For early intervention to be effective, front-line staff who work with children need to be able to access advice and guidance from highly-skilled professionals who understand the social, emotional, and psychological needs of children as they develop.’

The threshold for help is ‘immediate risk to life’ 

Young people’s problems now have to be so bad before they are given help that there is no help for people before they become so unwell they want to die.

The report says: ‘Thresholds are increasingly driven by immediate risk to life. 

‘Inadequate resources [are] making it hard to provide service for children in need of mental health support but not currently suicidal or other risk. 

‘Young children are especially missing out despite repeated government papers highlighting the need for early intervention in mental health.’

In an example given in the report, one ‘suicidal and hopeless’ girl about whom staff were ‘very concerned’ was rejected for help. 

In her rejection CAMHS said the girl had a safety plan already in place because ‘her mother was checking the windows’ at home because she was worried her daughter would jump out. 

‘I am considering leaving the NHS because it is no longer safe’ 

Staff morale is down as more specialist staff are replaced by managers and agency staff, the survey found. 

One child psychotherapist who did not want to be named said: ‘I am considering leaving the NHS as I am worried it is no longer safe to practise.

‘It is tragic to witness the demise of a once flourishing and truly multidisciplinary specialist CAMHS. My skills are going to waste. 

‘Once the service was taken over by a new trust, the service was redesigned and now does not meet the needs of a large section of the population who have significant mental health needs. 

‘There is no time for proper assessments and treatment.’

‘Children and young people are not receiving the care they need’ 

The Association of Child Psychotherapists has been backed by experts in its call for an official review into how mental health services for children and teenagers are run in the UK.

Dr Jon Goldin of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: ‘Many children and young people, especially those with severe and enduring needs, are not receiving the specialist care and treatment they require. 

‘A well-led multi-disciplinary team of experienced clinicians is crucial to the delivery of high quality services and the report shows that this is lacking in many areas. 

‘We support the call by the Association of Child Psychotherapists for a review of how specialist services are provided to ensure they meet the needs of all children and young people.’



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk