Child mental health services will not meet demand, NAO warns

Spending watchdog says even promised £1.4bn extra would leave ‘significant unmet need’

Mental health services for children and young people will fall well short of meeting a growing demand for help, despite pledges by ministers to increase funding, a report by Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found.

The National Audit Office said even if current plans to spend an extra £1.4bn on the sector were delivered, there would be “significant unmet need” because of staff shortages, poor data and a lack of spending controls on NHS clinical commissioning groups.

Related: Too little money, too few beds. Why mental health is in crisis

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2QC7OXu