NHS Confed responds to funding for earlier mental health support for children and young people
Responding to the announcement of funding for new mental health ‘Early Support Hubs’ to help prevent children and young people from reaching crisis point, Sean Duggan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation's Mental Health Network said:
“Additional funding for these easy access, early support hubs for children and young people is very welcome, and health leaders will be particularly pleased that these services will be for those aged between 11 and 25, as serious mental illnesses often first emerge during a person’s late teens.
“Demand for dedicated mental health support for children and young people increased during the pandemic and waiting times remain stubbornly high, meaning that all too often, depending on what services are available in a given area, those aged 18 to 25 can easily fall between CAMHS and adult mental health services, and be left with no support during this transitional phase.
“We have been calling for action on this for a while and these ten hubs will be a really good start to help young people access mental health support when they first need it rather than waiting until they reach crisis point. There is an existing network of these early support hubs, so they won’t have to start from scratch.
“However, there will be challenges ahead, particularly in terms of staffing these new services as demand will be high and they risk being overwhelmed. These hubs need to be integrated within their local system and be part of the pathway for young people, and in the long run, available everywhere otherwise there is a risk of inequity in provision.
“While these hubs will help meet the commitment in the long-term plan to ensure that a 0-25 approach is available across the country, they must also be partnered with implementation of new waiting time targets for children and young people's mental health, if they are to be effective.
“Further down the line and depending on a meaningful evaluation to ensure that the hubs are cost effective and improve outcomes for young people, we would want to see a roll out of these hubs, along with roll out of MH Support Teams in schools included in the forthcoming update to the long-term plan.
“Whilst the £3.2bn that will have been made available by 2024 via the current long-term plan will have helped children and young people, this funding is for mental health services generally and set to end soon, so we need to know what the next long term plan will look like, what funding will be available to support it, and what proportion will be for children and young people's services."
