Youth mental health charity stem4 surveyed 1,001 GPs across the UK about the mental health services for children and young people, with concerning results that services have deteriorated over the past six years.
stem4 has been tracking GPs views of NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for the past six years. 2022 results show that 95% of GPs believe mental health services for children and young people are critically failing and have deteriorated over the past six years; most would describe services as either in crisis (46%) or very inadequate (49%), compared to 85% in April 2016.
Half of GPs (53%) say at least 6 in 10 referrals for anxiety, depression, a conduct disorder, and self-harm are routinely rejected by CAMHS as their symptoms were not deemed severe enough, even though only the most at-risk are rejected. Consequently, 6 in 10 (63%) GPs fear young people will come to harm due to lack of treatment, while 58% have seen patients’ symptoms worsen, forcing them to go to A&E
Dr. Nihara Krause, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and founder of stem4, said: “It is truly shocking to learn from this survey of GPs experiences of dealing with CAMHS that so many vulnerable young people in desperate need of urgent help with their mental health are being forced to wait for so long—up to two years—for care they need immediately. As a clinician, it is particularly worrying that children and young people with psychosis, eating disorders, and even those who have just tried to take their own life are condemned to such long waits. CAMHS needs to undergo a major expansion in order to meet the serious and growing mental health needs that young people under the age of 21 have.”
Want to read more?
Read the full results in the press release or check out some of the key findings here.