Recommendations for transforming London’s health and care for London’s children and young people.

The purpose of this guide is to support the development of accessible, consistent and effective care for children and young people experiencing a mental health crisis in London. It contains seven recommendations, alongside indicative timelines, for commissioners and providers to implement to improve care for children and young people with mental health crisis in London.

The scope of the guidance is focused on the presentation of children and young people to emergency services (typically health/NHS) and making sure we have responsive accessible care. We understand the roots of crisis and how it is dealt with go way beyond this scope and we aim to work with stakeholders on these other aspects, as well as support the implementation of this guidance.

Our thanks go to the many people who gave their time and expertise from across the NHS, the voluntary care sector, local authorities, police and from service users and young citizens to develop this guide.