6,725 children on mental health waiting lists in Surrey Heartlands as Lib Dems pledge a mental health professional in every school
6,725 children on mental health waiting lists in Surrey Heartlands as Lib Dems pledge a mental health professional in every school.
Liberal Democrats call for a mental health professional in every primary and secondary school
6725 children and young people in the Surrey Heartlands area, which includes Esher and Walton, are on mental health waiting lists with an average wait time of 189 days
Monica Harding, Liberal Democrat Candidate for Esher and Walton has criticised the Conservative government for abandoning local parents and children
6,725 children and young people in Surrey Heartlands are on mental health waiting lists with average waits of 189 days, House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.
To help tackle the crisis in children’s mental health and reduce waiting lists, the Liberal Democrats have announced that their manifesto will include a commitment to a mental health professional in every primary and secondary school. The policy would be funded through a trebling of the Digital Services Tax, which would raise an extra £1.5 billion a year.
The landmark policy announcement by the Lib Dems would help cut mental health waiting lists and give children the support they need to flourish and reach their full potential.
Monica Harding, Liberal Democrat Candidate for Esher and Walton commented:
“Children and parents in our community are being forced to suffer long waits for vital mental health treatment. As a local mum, I know how important it is to access care for your loved ones and this policy would plug the gap left by years of Conservative mismanagement of our health services.
“By putting a mental health professional in every primary and secondary school, funded by a tax on the social media giants, we can finally begin to cut waiting lists for our community and give children the best opportunity to succeed with their education.
“This Conservative government has overlooked our local young people for too long. The people of Esher and Walton can vote for change on 4th July and the way to do that is by voting for the Liberal Democrats.”
Notes to Editor:
The House of Commons Library research can be found here. The figures were compiled from NHS Digital and cover the period from January to March of this year. They show the average waits for children and young people to see a mental health professional after a referral from a GP.
Notes from the House of Commons Library:
There has been no comprehensive routine data on average waiting times for children and young people’s (CYP) mental health services. In recent months, the Mental Health Monthly Statistics publication has begun to publish data on waiting times to access NHS-funded CYP mental health services.
This ‘MH waiting list’ tab in the attached file also includes data on the number of referrals to CYP mental health services that were still waiting for a first care contact at the end of the three-month period ending March 2024, and the median waiting time in days for those who were still waiting.
In recent months, the Mental Health Monthly Statistics publication has begun to publish data on waiting times between referral and second care contact for community mental health services for adults with serious mental illness. A wider waiting list figure for all adults who are waiting for mental health services is not published.