Professor Cathy Creswell, OH BRC Mental Health in Development Theme Lead, has contributed to a new report into children and young people’s mental health, published as part of the launch of the Future Minds campaign.
The Future Minds campaign is a collaboration between 4 of the UK’s leading children and young people’s and mental health organisations – Centre for Mental Health, Centre for Young Lives, the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, and YoungMinds, with the support of the Prudence Trust.
The Future Minds campaign is urging the Government to deliver urgent reform and investment to boost children’s mental health services in its forthcoming Spending Review and 10 Year NHS Plan.
The report highlights the children and young people’s mental health crisis, warning that the UK’s failure to address it costs the economy over £1 trillion in lost earnings, and negatively impacts economic growth.
The research shows that mental health issues lead to reduced productivity, increased benefits spending and school absences, costing the government £1.17 billion each year.
The Future Mind campaign calls for increased investment in mental health services, Mental Health Support Teams and open access hubs to prevent mental health problems from worsening.
The campaign stresses that addressing youth mental health is essential for the Government’s growth plans and for improving lives, urging an independent review of the crisis’ causes and increased funding for prevention and early intervention services.
