NHS Mental health services across Britain are a ‘silent catastrophe’ and people are routinely being failed thanks to government cuts.
Universities were told yesterday that they must “dramatically improve” support for students with mental health issues.
Earlier this year, a report found young students risked “slipping through the gaps” due to a lack of coordination between the NHS and universities.
Rosie Tressler from Student Mids said: “Together we will transform the futures of the 2.3 million students that are in higher education, whilst equipping the doctors, teachers and business leaders of the future to continue the positive change in wider society.”
In January another report found major Failings in the treatment of children and young people and the situation was described as a “silent catastrophe” within the NHS.
The report linked the crisis to a lack of funding and found “serious and worsening crisis” for the health service through a survey of those working in child and adolescent mental health services (Camhs), says trusts are being hollowed out and specialist services are disappearing owing to underfunding and the transformation and redesign of services in recent years.
There are rising levels of suicide, self-referral to A&E departments and pressure on in-patient units across Britain
The number of young people failing to receive the right treatment or “fully slipping through the cracks” is on the rise, the report says.
Camhs funding is only part of the problem, with specialist services moving “towards something of much less quality and rigour”, it adds.
Specialist services are disappearing, and senior clinical roles and disciplines are being dismantled, leading to pressure on lower-banded staff, the report says.
Treatment is focused on symptoms rather than the whole child or young person in context, it continues. Children and young people are left to “get worse before being seen” and there is an “increasing mismatch between need and treatment offered”.
Competitive tendering has led to “unrealistic and under-funded service models” and left services fragmented and staff isolated, it says.
The failings have led to high staff turnover, poor morale and poor working conditions.
