BackA teenage girl suffering ‘intense emotional meltdowns’ had to wait two years – almost six times the target – for mental health treatment.
England’s Health Ombudsman is urging Government and NHS leaders to prioritise timely treatment of people experiencing poor mental health and support the NHS workforce to deliver this.
The girl from Gateshead was 14 when her GP referred her to mental health services after she began experiencing meltdowns which sometimes involved self-harm. She was also crying a lot, often unhappy, and struggled to concentrate at school so much that she stopped going.
National guidelines state that no one should wait longer than 18 weeks for mental health treatment. In this case, the schoolgirl waited two years for treatment after being referred to Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust’s Children and Young People’s (CYP) services.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) investigated the case and found that the Trust failed to provide suitable care in an adequate timeframe. This caused a delay in her mental health beginning to improve.
The Ombudsman published reports in 2018 and 2024 highlighting issues in mental health services including when transferring people with poor mental health out of inpatient and emergency care, and failures in diagnosis that led to poor treatment.
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Source: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, UK
