Children and Mental Health Services

David Simpson Excerpts
Tuesday 16th July 2019

(5 years, 3 months ago)

Westminster Hall
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Andrew Griffiths Portrait Andrew Griffiths
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I agree that we are in a crisis. The Government are putting record amounts of money in, but the hon. Lady is absolutely right to say that that is an unacceptable wait. I will discuss waiting times later in my speech. Any parent would be terrified at the thought of that long wait and their child being further harmed by it.

David Simpson Portrait David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)
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The statistics the hon. Gentleman is outlining are horrific. Some years ago figures were released showing that across the whole of the United Kingdom, over 10,000 young people under the age of 10 were manic depressives. That is a horrendous figure. Such a situation puts horrendous pressure on parents and carers.

Andrew Griffiths Portrait Andrew Griffiths
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I have spoken about my own mental health challenges and my battle with depression and anxiety. As an adult it was very difficult to cope with, but for a small child it must be an incredibly hard to have to deal with.