Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

Debate between Baroness Parminter and Lord O'Shaughnessy

Wednesday 24th October 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord O’Shaughnessy]

I thank my noble friend for her question. The definition is a “diagnosable mental health condition”. That is the performance target, or threshold, we work against. At the moment, unfortunately, only around 30% of children and young people with a diagnosable condition access care and treatment but we are clearly trying to increase that figure.

[Baroness Parminter (LD)]

My Lords, have the Government made an assessment of the number of children and young people referred to community eating disorder services? Given that anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental health disease, how many of those referrals do not go on to get treatment?

[Lord O’Shaughnessy]

The noble Baroness makes a very important point. There are 70 new or enhanced community eating disorder services. The intention is that they should serve over 3,300 children and young people every year.