CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) work with children and young people up to the age of 18. Referrals are usually carried out via the GP although it can also be done via other channels such as Headscape or education settings. Although CAMHS see children and young people up to the age of 18, referrals seem to stop after the age of 16 but adult services do not see people until the age of 18. This means that anyone between 16 and 18 needing to access mental health support is unable to unless they use online services which either do not provide professional support or if they do, there may be a long waiting list to access the support. Not everyone is able to afford private mental health care so we need something available within the NHS.

What I want to achieve through this petition is for a service to be made available as a stepping stone between CAMHS and adult services. My idea is for this service to be available for young people aged between 14 and 21 because this age is where mental health issues may become most noticeable and if the correct support is not in place, it may affect academic achievement or disengagement with education particularly if there is an undiagnosed mental health issue or neurodiversity.

We need to act now to get this extra support for young people in place because CAMHS seems to have increased demand but decreased funding and not enough staff as they leave to go into the private sector.