Urgent changes to CAMHS services required, report warns

The report by the London School of Economics’ mental health policy group, which includes economists, psychologists, doctors and NHS managers, found that of 700,000 children with problem behaviours, anxiety or depression, around three quarters get no treatment.

It sets out recommendations to improve both child and adult mental health services, calling for an “urgent rethink” on the way the issue is approached, arguing that cheap psychological treatments could save millions by addressing problems early.

The report states that is it “imperative” to upgrade the specialist help provided to children with mental health problems, because “much of the work in CAMHS” does not follow National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines, inhibiting the quality of services and potentially reducing the number of children treated.

A government initiative to improve CAMHS, called the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, is making the situation better than it was, the report argues.

However, in some areas, local commissioners are failing to fund the necessary expansion of the scheme and are even cutting mental health provision, especially for children, it adds.

In light of this, the report suggests that the IAPT programme should continue for at least six years, until 2018/19. It is currently due to end in March 2015.

Lord Layard, lead author of the report, said: “If local NHS commissioners want to improve their budgets, they should all be expanding their provision of psychological therapy.

“It will save them so much on their physical healthcare budgets that the net cost will be little or nothing."

The report also calls for better, and earlier diagnosis of mental health problems, claiming that GPs often fail to recognise mental illness due to a lack of training in the area.

It states that GPs should be better trained in mental health, and that they should be placed in a CAMHS or IAPT service as part of their rotation prior to practising.

Sarah Brennan, chief executive of YoungMinds, said: “Lord Layard is right to highlight how mental health is often the Cinderella service of the NHS.

“Yet the picture is even worse for children and young people’s mental health where for every pound spent by the NHS less than a penny is spent on Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

“Getting it right for children when they are young plays a key part in reducing the number of people who suffer with mental illness throughout their lives.”