NHS Confederation responds to the announcement of extra funding for early support hubs
Responding to the Department of Health and Social Care's announcement of extra funding for early support hubs, Sean Duggan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network, said:
"The extra funding for early support hubs for children and young people is a very welcome boost, and will help 14 existing hubs to increase capacity and offer support to many more children and young people who need it.
"Mental health leaders are very aware of the surge in demand from children and young people since the pandemic and know more needs to be done to ensure they can access support when they first need it rather than having to wait until they reach crisis point.
"These hubs add vital capacity to the system and provide a range of support for children and young people under one roof to make it easier to access or self-refer into services as well as providing support to children and young people who might not meet the criteria for NHS services.
"But our members know that opening 24 hubs is not enough and more needs to be done to provide treatment and support to every child and young person who needs it. We want to see these services continue to be provided as part of the local mental health support offer for children and young people.
“This is why we have supported the Fund the Hubs campaign, which calls for early support hubs for children and young people in every local authority. We are a long way away from that vision becoming a reality and it is essential that scaling up these services remains a priority for government.
"It is also important to ensure that these new services are integrated into a permanent local offer for children and young people's services, forming an integral part of the support pathway for young people and providing an outlet for those who may not meet the threshold for mainstream CAMHS services. Failure to ensure widespread availability risks perpetuating inequities in provision and widening existing health inequalities.”
