Children and Mental Health Services

Rachael Maskell Excerpts
Tuesday 16th July 2019

(4 years, 8 months ago)

Westminster Hall
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Andrew Griffiths Portrait Andrew Griffiths
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I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, whom I congratulate on his work in our NHS; I am grateful that he does such a great job on mental health work in the community. He raises the very important point that it is all very well wanting to deliver these services and putting the money in place, but if we do not have the staff to deliver on the ground, we will always be running to catch up.

Rachael Maskell Portrait Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
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The hon. Gentleman is giving an excellent speech. In York, we have seen a 26% increase in referrals into CAMHS over the past five years. As a result of such high demand, one referral in four is turned away from the service, including children who are self-harming and have experienced abuse. Surely we need to focus on investment in the workforce, as well as on funding.