Crisis in mental health as children self-harm

MORE than 1,000 children attended a Birmingham or Sandwell hospital after trying to injure or kill themselves over the past five years.

The figures, which include people aged 17 and under, were provided by health trusts covering Birmingham’s hospitals, as well as Sandwell General Hospital in West Bromwich.

And they showed the “crisis in children’s mental health”, according to Birmingham MP Liam Byrne.

He said: “We now face nothing less than a crisis in children’s mental health services. The level of children’s pain is simply outstripping investment in services to help. When over 1,000 children come to A&E having selfharmed or tried to take their own lives we know this is a crisis.”

The Government increasing funding health services.

But Mr Byrne, Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill, said funding for mental health is actually falling in parts of Birmingham.

Cash for mental health services dropped from £100.5 million to £96.5 million last year, in the area covered by Sandwell and West Midlands Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) – one of the NHS bodies responsible for commissioning health services.

Funding also fell from £67.2 million to £65.9 million in the says it is for mental area served by Birmingham South and Central CCG.

Between, these two NHS bodies serve 700,000 people.

The figures were provided by House of Commons researchers, based on NHS data.

Cash for mental health rose last year in the area covered by Birmingham’s third clinical commissioning group, called Birmingham Crosscity CCG.

It also increased in Dudley, Walsall and Solihull.

Mr Byrne said his survey of parents in his constituency revealed that parents were struggling to access services for their children.

Of 50 parents his staff spoke to, half said they had tried to access mental health services on behalf of a child. Almost 90 per cent of these – 21 out of 24 – experienced difficulties obtaining the services the needed.

Many parents highlighted social media as a possible cause of mental health issues.

Nationwide, the NHS spent £11.9 billion on mental health services in the 2017-18 financial year.