Children's mental health: 'I was begging for help for my daughter'

Two mothers in the North West have shared the struggles and frustrations they have faced to access mental health support for their daughters.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is often the first point of contact for young people struggling with their mental health.

During the first lockdown, Leanne's* daughter attempted to take her own life at the age of 14.

After being treated in hospital, Leanne was advised to take her daughter home and wait for a call from her local CAMHS crisis team.

"I was given the crisis team's number on a post-it note and told to ring them if she got worse," she said.

"Can it get any worse than a failed overdose?"

But two weeks passed and she was still waiting for a call. Her daughter then took an overdose for the second time.

"I was begging for help and we were made to feel ashamed. My heart breaks," she said.

Her daughter was kept in hospital overnight following her second overdose where she was asked to share her story again with another mental health professional.

Leanne said she was also not provided with a care plan or the fortnightly appointments which they had been promised.

"This service is completely inaccessible, it's unapproachable, lacking organisation," she told BBC North West Tonight.

Another mother, whose daughter was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa at the age of 11, said it was clear that her local CAMHS "can in no way match the current demand".

Kate* recalled how her daughter had improved by spring 2020 but relapsed during the first lockdown

"By the November of 2020, she was in crisis," she said.

"She was self-harming and she was running away on almost a daily basis.

"This is where I began to realise that help was not really available."

Kate said the crisis team visited her daughter twice over a period of two weeks but each time the case was closed with no solution and no further help after 72 hours.

She said while the individuals that had supported her family had been "kind, professional and dedicated", improvements were needed.

"The Covid pandemic has been repeatedly cited as a reason for the shortages and delays and, whilst this is undoubtedly a factor, we know from our experience that the service was lacking in the years before the event," she added.

If you're affected by any of the issues in this article you can find details of organisations who can help via the BBC Action Line.

A spokesman for one of the CAMHS involved said the last two years had "sadly seen a huge increase in the number of children and young people being referred to mental health services".

He said this had put huge pressures on all services throughout the region but there was always someone you could reach out to.

The second CAMHS involved added: "Young people in urgent need for care or in crisis are seen immediately and our rapid response teams provide intensive support for children and young people in crisis for the first 72 hours."

*Not their real names

You can see more on this story on BBC North West Tonight at 18:30 GMT on Thursday 6 January and subsequently on the BBC iPlayer.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]