Children's mental health: getting early support "leaves a lot of risks," says commissioner

Local authorities and the NHS in England spend just over £ 14 per child (€ 16.30, $ 18.30) on preventative mental health badistance, and more than a third of regions experience a reduction in expenses, warns a report from the Commissioner for Children.1

This is the first data badysis of preventive and early intervention services to address issues such as anxiety and eating disorders, such as support provided by school nurses or counselors, reception centers and online counseling services.

Anne Longfield, Children's Commissioner for England, says these services are essential to providing early help to children with mental health problems and can often prevent diseases from developing into much more serious diseases. But she said the system is "very fragmented" and "leaves a lot to chance".

She warned: "We risk continuing to have a system that can not help children until they are so sick that they require specialist intervention."