Mental health reforms will leave too many without help

The Government's proposed Green Paper on Transforming Children and Young People's Mental Health lacks ambition and will provide no help to the majority of those children who desperately need it, say the Education and Health and Social Care Committees in a joint report.

The long timeframes involved in the government's strategy will leave too many children and young people unable to benefit from the proposals, the Committees believe.

The government is rolling out pilot projects where mental health teams provide extra support alongside waiting time targets. But these schemes are set to roll out in only a fifth to a quarter of the country by 2022/23.

The Green Paper wants schools and colleges to deliver the ‘Designated Senior Lead for Mental Health’ role from within their own ranks. But the Committees believe this will only add more burden to already stretched teachers. Staff need support within their school or college to ensure that their role is balanced with their normal duties. The government must ensure that the existing child mental health workforce is not overburdened by the demands of the Green Paper.

In a discussion forum held with young people, participants told the Committees that exams have adverse effects on their mental health and well-being. The government needs to gather independent evidence concerning the impact of exam pressure on young people.

In addition, the Committee heard that young people excluded from school seem much more likely to have social, emotional and mental health needs, yet the Green Paper does not address this issue. The government must focus on the increase in pupils being excluded with mental health needs and how the mental health needs of excluded pupils are being met.
Transferring to adult care

Young people are also not receiving the services they need as they enter adulthood. At age 18, young people transition to adult mental health services. But a far more appropriate age appears to be 25. Indeed it seems that a third of 18 year olds drop out of mental health support rather than transfer to adult services. The government must commit to a full assessment of the current transition arrangements between child and adult mental health services. In addition there needs to be a distinct and separate set of proposals for looked after children accessing mental health services.

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