Recommendation 7

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.