Recommendations & Conclusions
9 items
3
Recommendation
Eighth Report - Children and young peop…
Deferred
The gap between the 2004 and 2017 NHS Digital Mental Health Surveys was too long, and this must not be repeated. We recommend that NHS Digital regularly collect and publish robust prevalence data for mental health conditions every three years, starting from the end of 2021 disaggregated by age, ethnicity, …
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The gap between the 2004 and 2017 NHS Digital Mental Health Surveys was too long, and this must not be repeated. We recommend that NHS Digital regularly collect and publish robust prevalence data for mental health conditions every three years, starting from the end of 2021 disaggregated by age, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and condition, alongside a plan to address any disparities uncovered. Such a study should also examine both unmet need and the risks of overmedicalisation of minor issues.
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Government response AI summary
The government states it is considering this recommendation. The rest of the response details the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams and general mental wellbeing initiatives, which do not directly address the recommendation for regular mental health prevalence data collection.
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Department of Health and Social Care
7
Conclusion
Eighth Report - Children and young peop…
Deferred
Commitments in the 2017 Green Paper and the NHS Long Term Plan have been taken seriously by NHS England and led to a significant expansion of provision. We are, however, concerned that many commitments may not yet be ambitious enough to ensure every young person with a diagnosable mental health …
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Commitments in the 2017 Green Paper and the NHS Long Term Plan have been taken seriously by NHS England and led to a significant expansion of provision. We are, however, concerned that many commitments may not yet be ambitious enough to ensure every young person with a diagnosable mental health condition can access care. Currently, waiting times for accessing children and young people’s mental health services remain far too long, and too many referrals to specialist services are inappropriately rejected. We are also concerned that, despite the NHS Long Term Plan committing to improve access to specialist support for all children and young people aged 0–25, children below the age of three have largely been overlooked to date. The Early Years Health Development Review provides an opportunity for Government to ensure a more consistent offer for families to help strengthen parent-infant relationships which are a key foundation for good mental health.
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Government response AI summary
The government states it is considering this recommendation. It acknowledges challenges for young adults and highlights £33 million provided in FY 21-22 for accelerating plans for 18-25 year olds, aiming to eliminate age-based thresholds by FY 2023-2024.
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Department of Health and Social Care
10
Recommendation
Eighth Report - Children and young peop…
Deferred
We welcome and support the proposals in the recent access and waiting times consultation that concluded on 1st September, including crisis response times and a four-week waiting time limit for children and young people, and call on NHS England to publish a detailed roadmap as to how it will be …
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We welcome and support the proposals in the recent access and waiting times consultation that concluded on 1st September, including crisis response times and a four-week waiting time limit for children and young people, and call on NHS England to publish a detailed roadmap as to how it will be delivered including the additional funding requirements.
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Government response AI summary
The government redirects to the response for recommendation 3 for an answer to this recommendation.
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Department of Health and Social Care
11
Recommendation
Eighth Report - Children and young peop…
Deferred
It is clear that young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 face some of the widest gaps between the support that they need and the support that is available to them. 56 Children and young people’s mental health We welcome NHS England & Improvement’s commitment to shift away …
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It is clear that young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 face some of the widest gaps between the support that they need and the support that is available to them. 56 Children and young people’s mental health We welcome NHS England & Improvement’s commitment to shift away from the current model of care towards one that provides for those aged 0–25. However, we have heard progress on this has been slow, with large variation between areas on what age services are commissioned to. Lucas’s story provided a stark reminder that the transition to adult services remains poor for many children and young people, with high rates of drop-out from services in this period. It is essential that young people do not experience a sudden drop in their support at the age of 18.
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Government response AI summary
The government is considering the recommendation regarding the 18-25 age gap. It highlights the ongoing rollout of MHSTs and investments in broader children and young people's mental health services, but does not commit to specific actions to address the transition gap for young adults.
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Department of Health and Social Care
25
Conclusion
Eighth Report - Children and young peop…
Deferred
For those children and young people who prefer accessing help online, digital services can be an important way of reducing barriers to access so it is important that a digital offer should be available for all young people. To prevent over-medicalisation of mental health conditions this should include self-help options …
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For those children and young people who prefer accessing help online, digital services can be an important way of reducing barriers to access so it is important that a digital offer should be available for all young people. To prevent over-medicalisation of mental health conditions this should include self-help options as well as digital counselling offers. However, digital support options are not appropriate for all children and young people, and in fact can pose barriers and exacerbate inequalities for some. Therefore, targets for improving access to services should not be met by over-reliance on digital support. These models should complement, rather than replace the existing in-person offers. (Paragraph 117) Inpatient care
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation in part but states it plans to launch a public discussion paper to inform a new longer-term mental health strategy, deferring specific commitments on digital mental health services.
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Department of Health and Social Care
29
Recommendation
Eighth Report - Children and young peop…
Deferred
For those children and young people for whom inpatient admission cannot be avoided, a continued focus is needed to increase the quality of this care. As well as much improved data collection, this should include access to therapies, activities and education, including from private sector providers. It should include a …
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For those children and young people for whom inpatient admission cannot be avoided, a continued focus is needed to increase the quality of this care. As well as much improved data collection, this should include access to therapies, activities and education, including from private sector providers. It should include a stronger voice for children, young people and their families through access to advocacy for all children and young people.
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Government response AI summary
The government states it is considering this recommendation, while affirming its focus on ensuring high-quality inpatient care and improving alternatives through existing initiatives like the NHS Long Term Plan and the Quality Improvement Taskforce for Children and Young People’s Mental Health.
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Department of Health and Social Care
31
Recommendation
Eighth Report - Children and young peop…
Deferred
The Department should commit to expanding Independent Mental Health Advocates support so that all children and young people admitted to hospital informally have the same legal right to an Independent Mental Health Advocate as those admitted under legislation without qualification. This advocacy should all operate on an opt- out basis.
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The Department should commit to expanding Independent Mental Health Advocates support so that all children and young people admitted to hospital informally have the same legal right to an Independent Mental Health Advocate as those admitted under legislation without qualification. This advocacy should all operate on an opt- out basis.
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Government response AI summary
The government is considering the recommendation to expand Independent Mental Health Advocate support for informal patients. It outlines existing work by various taskforces to reduce restrictive practices in children and young people's mental health inpatient services, but does not commit to expanding IMHA.
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Department of Health and Social Care
33
Recommendation
Eighth Report - Children and young peop…
Deferred
In addition to our recommendations on the use of restraint that we set out in our report on the treatment of autistic people and people with learning disabilities, the use of prone restraint on children and young people should be banned in all inpatient settings and in transit. Further action …
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In addition to our recommendations on the use of restraint that we set out in our report on the treatment of autistic people and people with learning disabilities, the use of prone restraint on children and young people should be banned in all inpatient settings and in transit. Further action should be taken with all inpatient and transport providers to minimise restrictive practice by sharing best practice from programmes such as the SafeWards approach with all children and young people’s inpatient units nationally. In line with requirements to report incidents of restraint in inpatient settings and children’s homes, all organisations involved in the transportation of children should be required to report such incidents so that these can be monitored and acted upon where necessary.
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Government response AI summary
The government is considering the recommendation to ban prone restraint on children and require reporting. It outlines existing programs and guidance aimed at reducing restrictive practices but does not commit to the specific actions requested.
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Department of Health and Social Care
38
Recommendation
Eighth Report - Children and young peop…
Deferred
For those children and young people for whom school is not the most accessible place to seek support, there must also be a community-based offer. This could be based on the network of drop-in hubs outlined in Chapter 4 of this report, which provide open- access mental health support without …
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For those children and young people for whom school is not the most accessible place to seek support, there must also be a community-based offer. This could be based on the network of drop-in hubs outlined in Chapter 4 of this report, which provide open- access mental health support without the requirement for a referral or high thresholds for access.
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Government response AI summary
The government response does not directly address the recommendation for a community-based mental health offer but instructs the reader to refer to the response for Recommendation 3.
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Department of Health and Social Care