NHS England has published its latest figures on mental health care, known as the dashboard. In its summary of those statistics, the organisation said it had calculated that a key target outlined in the Five-Year Forward View for Mental Health(FYFV-MH) - to treat an extra 70,000 children and young people with mental health problems a year by 2021 - had already been met, two years early.
This is based on figures for the prevalence of mental illness in children and young people used in putting together the FVFV-MH, which was published in February 2016, rather than more recent figures - published last November - which showed that level had gone up.
Professor Wendy Burn, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “It’s fantastic news that the target to treat an extra 70,000 children and young people with mental health problems a year by 2021 has already been met, two years early. I would like to congratulate everyone who has made this happen, including our hard-working members.
“This shows what can be achieved when you invest in mental health services and give them the means to improve. What we need now is for that momentum to be sustained and increased as outlined in the NHS Long-Term Plan.”
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