CYPMHC Manifesto Calls For Government To Prioritize Children’s Mental Health.

March 25, 2024

CYPMHC Manifesto Calls For Government To Prioritize Children’s Mental Health.

There is a nationwide crisis in children and young people’s mental health. Demand for
mental health services are drastically outstripping current provision and children and young
people are being met with inaccessible support, rejected referrals, and extreme wait times.

The crisis impacts the entire nation, and the Government must act now.

The Children & Young People’s Mental Health Coalition (CYPMHC) has released a manifesto calling for changes needed to improve mental health outcomes and address enduring issues within the children’s mental health system.

That’s why YPAS is supporting the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition in calling for
all parties to make a strong political commitment to improve mental health outcomes for all babies, children, and young people to build a healthier and prosperous society.

We support the Coalition’s four manifesto asks of the Government to:

  • Commit to a funding settlement to deliver a comprehensive mental health pathway for all babies, children, and young people aged 0–25 years old. Because demand is outstripping capacity and services have been routinely underfunded.
  • Embed whole educational approaches to mental health and wellbeing across all education settings. Because educational settings are well-placed to promote and protect CYP’s mental health and wellbeing but do not have the resources to do so.
  • Increase the provision of early intervention support in the community through the national roll-out of early support hubs in every local area. There needs to be a shift to rebalance the system from focusing only on crisis care to identifying and managing problems early before needs escalate.
  • Bring forward reform of the Mental Health Act 1983, because too many children are being let down- placed in adult wards, out of area, and have consistently bad experiences.

Read the full manifesto here.

Children & Young People's Mental Health Coalition Manifesto