Child MENTAL HEALTH services England must be prioritised more to tackle the complex and severe problems they face, a leaked draft taskforce report says.
The review, headed by senior NHS England and Department of Health officials, said addressing the issue must become a “national ambition”.
It highlights rising waiting times and the lack of age-appropriate hospital services.
But it noted attempts had STARTED being made to improve care.
The taskforce was set up by ministers. In particular, its draft report praised the push by the government on MENTAL HEALTH since 2011, when ministers said they wanted “parity of esteem with physical health services”.
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has been criticized after it was revealed £50 million was cut from the children’s mental health budget – more than 6 percent in real terms – since 2010 when the Conservative-led coalition came to power.
According to government figures, the coalition spent £717 million on mental health from 2012 to 2013, compared to £766 million spent under the Labour government from 2009 to 2010.
