Minister admits to “dysfunctional” NHS care for child and adolescent mental health

The NHS is currently “dysfunctional” when it comes to caring properly for child and adolescent mental health needs, a government health minister has said. Norman Lamb, minister for care and support, told an evidence session of the parliamentary health committee that services had to improve and that a national review would begin soon, to gather an accurate picture of the scale of the problem among young people.

The committee, holding the final evidence session for its inquiry into child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), asked what the government was doing about current statistics on the prevalence of mental health problems, which were 10 years old and out of date.

Lamb said, “It is horribly out of …