“Scatter gun” mental health support for North East children is leaving some youngsters falling through the cracks, NHS bosses have warned.
City leaders in Newcastle were told on Monday that there had been a “huge” surge in demand for help with children and young people’s mental health over the past five years – and that a broad array of support services was causing confusion for both families and professionals.
Members of Newcastle’s health and wellbeing board heard how referrals to mental health services commissioned by the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (CNTW) NHS Foundation Trust for five to 18-year-olds had jumped by more than 30% between 2019 and 2023, while the number of children aged four and under referred to Newcastle Hospitals’ early years autism diagnosis pathway increased from 62 in 2012 to 268 in 2024.
Angela Kumar, head of strategic commissioning for the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, told the board that demand was still “growing substantially” across the country and that families were facing significant waiting times to access the help they need.
She added that NHS chiefs are now seeking to join up mental health services more effectively to avoid duplication and prevent youngsters being passed back and forth between different organisations, instead of having too many working “in isolation”.
A city-wide transformation programme is now being developed to connect the various mental health teams working across Newcastle’s NHS services, numerous charities, voluntary and community organisations, and the city council.
Ms Kumar said that the move aligned with the Government’s newly-published 10-year plan for the NHS, which advocates a shift towards neighbourhood health services.
Her report states: “A number of conversations were held with partners across the system and a review of referrals into CNTW services has been undertaken. This identified confusion from both professionals and parents/ carers alike on how and where to access support. This confusion has led to a scatter gun approach with multiple referrals made to multiple services in the hope of accessing support, rather than children, young people & families being able to access the most appropriate support to meet their needs. Unfortunately, due to interoperability and services working is isolation, it is not always known which services are supporting children, young people and their families and therefore we run the risk of duplication in resource.”
It adds: “We cannot refute the data which is showing increases in requests for help. However, the lack of a system approach has forced a scatter gun approach, with many families accessing help from multiple sources, others failing between the gaps and many being passed from one service to another as they do not fit neatly within referral criteria.
“The introduction of Neighbourhood Health from NHS England provides us with an opportunity to join up support for children, young people and their families with wider support and teams already engaged such as education, early years, family hubs and VCSE partners. “The creation of Neighbourhood Multi-disciplinary teams provides us with an opportunity to take a holistic view of need and join up support in a coordinated approach, moving away from the siloed nature of NHS pathways of addressing the presenting issue.”
