The NHS trust that runs mental health services in Hillingdon has welcomed a report identifying areas in which the system is 'failing' young people.
The interim report by Healthwatch Hillingdon and Hillingdon Mind said there was a lack of funding and early intervention services in the borough, meaning problems often worsened by the time they were addressed.
The authors called for the launch of a 'task and finish' group involving all interested parties, from police and schools to GPs and voluntary organisations, to devise a long-term plan for tackling the problem.
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) has welcomed the idea, agreeing that it is under-resourced to deal with a rising number of cases.
Jackie Shaw, the trust's service director for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), said: “We need to be really brave about looking at what needs to happen early on in intervening early.
“We deliver what we can and obviously we have to prioritise more urgent cases and the result is you will get a waiting list, which is not acceptable.”
She added: “I welcome that there is going to be a look at the mental health needs for children in terms of what the NHS, but also schools and the council, provide.”
The trust runs CAMHS services for five London boroughs and says the number of inpatients in Hillingdon is typically between 10 and 12 at any given time, whereas the other boroughs average five.
It says because of the lack of early intervention services young people experiencing mental health issues often end up in A&E and then require long hospital stays.
At the same time, Hillingdon only has 12.2 whole time equivalent CAMHS workers covering a population of 263,527, despite a recommendation from the Royal College of Psychiatrists that communities should have 20 per 100,000 residents.
A trust spokesman said of the report: “CNWL welcomes the opportunity now these issues have been highlighted to work with partners for early identification and intervention services clearly in place in the borough, though some of these will not be NHS responsibility but the council and third sector.”
He added: “Joint work with Hillingdon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has seen investment to develop a CAMHS/learning disability service for the first time. The new service is a pilot but will be evaluated for effectiveness with a view to substantive funding.
“The multi-agency Child Health Programme Partnership (CHPP) met for the first time on Friday, December 5, 2014. A joint action plan is being is being consulted on at the moment. CNWL welcomes and is pleased to be part of this development.”
