Mental Health: Services must work hard on adolescent targets

The draft progress report on the implementation of the mental health standard in the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, seen by Young People Now, is due to be published in October by the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills. It is aimed at child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), primary care trusts (PCTs), local authorities, CAMHS commissioners, and strategic health authorities. The National Service Framework, published in 2004, laid down standards for the development of youth health services in England over the next decade.

All areas should provide comprehensive CAMHS by the end of 2006, according to a planning document issued by the Department of Health in 2002. Short-term priorities identified in the report include the need to focus on young people with learning disabilities, and age-appropriate services for 16- and 17-year-olds. Currently, 78 per cent of PCTs are commissioning services for 16- and 17-year-olds, while 59 per cent are commissioning services for young people with learning difficulties.