Almost a quarter of all children and young people referred for specialist mental health support are being turned away, a shocking new report has revealed.
CentreForum found that, as well as 23% of those seeking help being turned away, some were enduring times as long as two and a half years for access to support.
Instead of prioritising early intervention, many patients were told that their conditions were not acute enough and were turned away.
Around one in 10 young people aged between 5 and 16 have a mental health problem- that’s the equivalent of three in every classroom.
The report, which aims to give a 'state of the nation' picture of mental health services for young people, also revealed the shocking way people with serious conditions are treated.
This was often because their condition was not deemed serious enough or suitable for specialist mental health treatment.
Average waiting times for different providers also varied widely, from two weeks in Cheshire to 19 weeks in North Staffordshire. The average waiting time in Gateshead is five times as long as for those in nearby Tyneside. Similarly, waits in London vary widely from two months in Kensington and Chelsea to nearly six months in neighbouring Brent.
Some providers did not even measure waiting times at all, meaning that some patients could even be waiting longer than this.
Commission chair and former mental health minister Norman Lamb MP commented: “This research confirms the true extent of problems in children and young people’s mental health services.
"Far too often our children are turned away from help or forced to wait for months for treatment. This goes against what we all know - intervening early can prevent a condition reaching crisis point.
"This is a scandal which has existed for too long. It is unacceptable. If we are to finally achieve equality between physical and mental health, as the government has argued for, these shortcomings must be addressed urgently."
CentreForum executive chairman David Laws said: “This new analysis reveals a stark picture of the pressures on child and adolescent mental health services.
"Early intervention with young people is essential to prevent mental health problems getting worse. Over the coming year, CentreForum will be expanding its research into the challenges facing mental health services. It’s vital we improve our understanding of the current system, which suffers from a paucity of clear data, and assess whether progress has been made in transforming services."
A Department of Health spokesperson said: "We are delivering on our commitments on young people's mental health. The full £1.4billion will be made available as promised over the next five years, funding the biggest transformation the sector has ever seen, with every local area in the country revolutionising their services. This includes £28million to continue the roll out of talking therapies for children, to expand capacity and help more children get the help they need before they get to a crisis point.”