Progress on children’s mental health services is too slow, says commissioner for England

Children’s mental health services show signs of improvement but the current rate of progress is still not good enough, the Children’s Commissioner for England has said.1 Her report comes as new figures show that one in eight 5 to 19 year olds had at least one mental disorder in 2017.2

Last year, 338 633 children accessed Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), equivalent to 2.85% of the total population of children.

Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner, says this is a small fraction of those who need help and there is a vast gap between what is provided and what children need. She has called for better lower level mental health services including an NHS funded counsellor in every school.

Latest figures from NHS Digital show a slight increase over time in the prevalence of mental …