Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Paragraph: 55
Commitments in the 2017 Green Paper and the NHS Long Term Plan have been taken...
Conclusion
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.
Paragraph Reference:
55
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
55. The government is considering this recommendation. 56. Improving mental health care and support for young adults is a priority for us. We know people aged 18 to 25 can, when trying to access mental health support, face challenges including a lack of care continuity, differing thresholds and concepts of what constitutes mental health need between children and young people, and adult services, and a reported lack of expertise in adult services regarding working with young adults. 57. In FY 2021 to 2022, NHSEI provided an additional £33 million for systems to accelerate plans to support young adults (including students) who fall through the gap of services. NHSEI will continue to direct funding for improving care for young adults including through additional Long Term Plan funding to systems for children and young people’s mental health expansion. This is in addition to funding available to all systems through increases to adult community and crisis baselines. In line with ambitions in the NHS LTP , we have reiterated our commitment that by the end FY 2023 to 2024 no age-based thresholds are in operation and all services are adapted to meet the needs of 18 to 25 year olds.