£1.5bn bill for poor childhood mental health

Mental health disorders in young people cost Britain dear
Mental health disorders in young people cost Britain dear

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Monday, 24, Nov 2008 10:20

A severe mental health disorder common in children and young people costs £1.5 billion every year in England, a thinktank has calculated.

Charity New Philanthropy Capital's new report Heads Up suggests up to £376 million a year could be saved by expanding treatment for conduct disorder, a severe psychiatric disorder in children and adolescents.

It believes the government should do more to address the problem given the cumulative impact of the disorder on the criminal justice system and the NHS, education and social care costs, and lost earnings.

One in ten young people in Britain are affected by some form of mental health problem and three-quarters of adults with disorders had one when they were a child.

"Helping children at an earlier stage stops troubled kids from becoming troubled adults," NPC chief executive Martin Brookes said.

"It can save individuals and families years of distress, and the state millions of pounds."

The government's independent review of child and adolescent mental health services revealed that, despite there being some improvements, there are "unacceptable variations" in the quality of provision between regions and within local areas.

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