Analysis shows local areas spend an average of 6% of their mental health budget on children, despite children making up around 20% of the population.
This is according to the October 2018 briefing (pdf) from the Children’s Commissioner on children’s mental health treatment.
The paper finds:
- 38% of NHS spending on children’s mental health goes on providing in-patient
mental-health care. This is accessed by 0.001% of children aged 5-17 - 16% of NHS spending goes on providing universal services. This need to support the one in ten children who are thought to have a clinically significant mental health condition but are not accessing child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
- The current system for providing children’s mental health care is neither transparent nor accountable. The Government have failed both to put clear expectations onto local NHS areas as to what should be provided or to monitor what is provided.
