Children’s Mental Health

Debate between Diane Abbott and Rosena Allin-Khan

Tuesday 8th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dr Allin-Khan]

My hon. Friend is entirely right, and that is why we are here today. Our children deserve better; they cannot go on like this. That is why we are talking about measures that can help to ameliorate these difficulties so that no child has to wait that long, and their families do not have to wait that long for answers. This is not okay.

[Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that among young people, black and minority ethnic young people often experience particular mental health pressures? There must be more analysis of the support that they and their families need.

[Dr Allin-Khan]

As always, my right hon. Friend is a powerful advocate for all groups, but particularly when it comes to black and minority ethnic groups. We do not have the data—we do not collect the data—even to understand the scale of the issue. I think that that is convenient for the Government, because it means they do not have to accept that there is a problem which needs to be dealt with.

That is one of the issues for the future. We have to understand the true scale of the issue when it comes to some minority groups, and tailor support that helps them specifically. When people from minority groups are seeking help, often it is so difficult for them to make a connection with people who understand some of the particular social pressures they live with at home and some of the societal issues they have to deal with that also contribute to mental ill health—for example, systemic racism. My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to bring that up.

We have a range of public health measures in place for children—check-ups for eyesight, hearing and growth—and vaccinations to protect against measles, mumps and rubella, yet we ignore the wisdom of the ages when it comes to children’s mental health. As a doctor, I know that adverse childhood experiences are a key contributing factor to poor mental health in adulthood. In A&E, I see increasingly younger children coming in having self-harmed or living with eating disorders. It is simply heartbreaking, and for parents it is absolutely agonising. Parents bring their children to A&E wondering why they are fainting repeatedly and are constantly exhausted.