Children face six-month wait for mental health assessments

An investigation by the NSPCC found that the average waiting time between referral and assessment by local child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) ranged from just a week in some areas to more than 26 weeks (six months) in others.

The average waiting time across all areas, based on figures provided by 35 NHS mental health trusts in response to freedom of information requests, was around two months.

The NSPCC said that even after waiting so long, tens of thousands of children will not receive treatment. 

Last month, the charity warned of a mental health "time bomb" after finding out that following assessment a fifth of all children (39,652 out of 186,453 cases) referred to CAMHS were rejected.

It has raised concerns that children with problems associated with abuse and neglect could be slipping through the net after failing to meet high clinical thresholds for treatment by local NHS services.

Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said it is unacceptable that a “postcode lottery” exists in relation to access to specialist children’s mental health services.

“We know that large numbers of children, coping with the complex emotional and psychological fallout of abuse, seek help through these services,” he said.

“Sadly, we also know that in some areas, even after such a long wait, many will not receive the specialist therapeutic help they desperately need.

“Recorded abuse against children is at record levels but doesn’t come near reflecting the overall scale of this crime.

“As more and more children bravely speak out about the sickening things that have been done to them it is essential that enough tailored services are there to support them.”

The government has pledged to invest £1.25bn to improve CAMHS over the next five years.

It has said it will introduce maximum waiting times for young people to be treated for eating disorders with treatment to start within four weeks for "routine" and within one week for “urgent” cases.

But earlier this month CYP Now revealed that the maximum waiting times will not be fully implemented for another five years, a situation that has come in for criticism from former health minister Norman Lamb.

CYP Now is hosting a national conference on 3 December, Children's Mental Health: Policy and Practice, with speakers from government and academia and a range of practical workshop sessions.