Nationally and regionally, there have been problems with access to specialist children’s and adolescent mental health services. While ten per cent of children nationally have a mental health condition requiring access to mental health services, only three per cent are able to do so. Rising demand, lengthening waiting times and high thresholds for access to services have been highlighted for some time.
The purpose of this report is to try to compare areas meeting and not meeting the CAMHS access targets, and explore whether there are themes of good practice that influence success. We also wanted to hear from commissioners about the challenges affecting demand and delivery of services.