UK to enhance mental health services

A British government minister has described mental health services for young people in the UK as “stuck in the dark ages,” vowing to modernize provision of psychiatric help for children.

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb made the remarks in a Tuesday interview with the state-funded BBC.

“I don’t think that children’s mental health services, the way they’re organized, the way they’re commissioned, are fit for purpose,” said Lamb.

“I’m determined that we modernize services for children who have mental health problems,” he further pledged, noting that the organization of such services “is stuck in the dark ages and it needs to be brought into the modern age.”

The minister has set up a task force that will look at how to improve the way children’s mental health services are organized and commissioned, how to make better use of voluntary and charitable groups and how to make it easier for young people to access help online.

“Crucially, I want young people to be involved,” Lamb said.

The group is due to publish its findings next spring.

One in 10 children and young people aged five to 16 suffers from a mental health condition, but just 0.6% of National Health Service (NHS) funding is spent on mental health services.

Sarah Brennan, the chief executive of Young Minds, who will also sit on the task force said, “We can’t have discussions about provision of services without talking about resources. Ultimately, they’re (the NHS) are going to have to spend some money.”