04.12.13
Better data and priority for young mental health issues needed
The majority of joint strategic needs assessments (JSNAs) do not give enough priority to children and young people’s mental health, according to a coalition of charities, youth workers and health professionals.
The Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, has conducted a review which found that two out of three JSNAs do not measure these mental health needs locally, and that old data is used to estimate the prevalence of mental illness in this age group.
The coalition wants more focus on early years mental health support to prevent problems worsening and to deliver more cost-effective care. It recommends that health and wellbeing boards (HWBs) should include children and young people’s mental health as a priority with outcomes to measure impact, while the DH should commission a national survey to get a clearer picture of the scale of the problem.
Outcomes within the NHS Outcomes Framework should be adapted and extended, and Public Health England should update guidance and tools, ensuring these are easily accessible to HWBs and commissioners.
Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “We know that 75% of adult mental health problems begin before age 18. As I have said in my recent report, I believe it is important that the Department of Health commissions a new survey of the prevalence of mental health problems in children and young people, to ensure they get the right support and treatment they need as early as possible.”
Barbara Rayment, chair of the Children & Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, added: “Local authorities have difficult decisions to make about how to allocate dwindling health budgets. While it is very welcome that two-thirds of JHWSs are prioritising children and young people’s mental health, too many are not giving this the priority it needs in order to help them develop the resilience and self-esteem necessary for making healthy choices and to deal with the challenges they face.
“A recent study shows voluntary sector providers feel their data has been excluded from JSNAs, thus further excluding the issues that matter most to their local young people, therefore it is vital that the Coalition’s evidence of good practice is shared. Reliable data must also be made available, as a basis from which the services that need to be funded as a priority can be identified.”
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