UK children who need mental health services face 'postcode lottery'

Survey finds wide regional variation in availability of services, with waiting times as long as 16 months reported

Children needing mental health care are forced to endure waits of up to 18 month for treatment while four in 10 psychiatric services for young people are failing, according to the health service regulator.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC), after surveying mental health care for children in England, said that in one case young people were forced to wait as long as 493 days for treatment and 610 days for family therapy. Elsewhere, services were setting their own targets for how quickly children should be seen, the CQC said, which varied wildly depending on a postcode lottery.

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Continue reading... October 27, 2017 at 04:31AM