Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham challenges government on national waiting time for children’s mental health services

Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham challenges government on national waiting time for children’s mental health services

The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, the Rt Revd Paul Williams has asked the government for a national review of waiting times for children and young people to access Child and Adolescent Mental Health services.

Asking a question to the Government Ministers in the House of Lords, Bishop Paul, who has had an interest in foster care for over 10 years, cited the statistic that children in care are four times more likely to experience mental health issues than their peers, due to the difficulties they may have experienced. 

As an example he told the House of Lords that in Nottingham city and county over 1,000 children and young people waited more than 12 weeks between referral and second contact in 2021. 

His call for a full national review echoed a similar recent request from the President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services. It would ensure that the service, “Is able to meet the growing demand placed upon it,” said Bishop Paul, “Especially for looked after children who are four times more likely to experience mental health issues than their peers.”

You can watch Bishop Paul below.