Spending in Enfield on the mental health of children ranks amongst the bottom 10 in the country, it has been revealed. Commissioners in Enfield are planning to spend just £2.33 per child on mental health.
Despite Government investing of £119m in child and adolescent mental health services this year, with a further £140m promised for 2017/18, the proportion of sorely needed cash that has landed in the hands of doctors to spend on young people in Enfield amounts to just 0.41% of the Borough’s mental health budget. It is at the discretion of local Clinical Commissioning Groups to ensure that this money is passed to the front line based on their assessment of local need.
Local MP David Burrowes said: “It is a scandal that almost a quarter of our young people are turned away when referred to mental health specialists by their GP. How is it that as prevalence of mental health disorders among young people soar, local commissioners can slash spending on support for our children?”
“There is now a greater Government commitment to support child and adolescent mental health and this needs to be matched locally as well. Enfield Council and CCG must reverse the cuts they have planned for the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, and invest in the mental health of vulnerable young people. It makes sense because when we don’t support children and young people’s mental health needs, they will become more complex and costly”.