CRC concluding observations 2023, paragraph 43
Plain English recommendation
Government should: (a) Urgently update the Mental Health Act to: • ban the detention or placement of children with mental health issues, learning disabilities and autism in adult psychiatric units or police stations • guarantee children’s right to have a say in decisions about their mental health care, to get therapeutic services and to get support from Independent Mental Health Advocates • introduce rules to prevent unnecessary and overly long stays in inpatient mental health care; (b) Ensure that the Major Conditions Strategy includes infants, children and young people’s health, and prioritises their mental health; (c) Ensure there are well-funded strategies to make community-based therapeutic mental health support available for all children; promote mental health and provide screening and early intervention services in schools; (d) Reduce long waiting times for mental health services and ensure there are enough qualified medical professionals so that children’s needs can be met quickly and locally; (e) Ensure lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children, migrant children, disabled children, and ‘young carers’ can get specialist, properly funded mental health services that are tailored to their needs; (f) Take action to reduce the disproportionate number of children from minority groups, autistic children and children with learning disabilities in inpatient mental health care; (g) Do more, including by providing funding, to tackle the causes of poor mental health, eating disorders and self-harm among children.
Original UN recommendation
The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Urgently reform the Mental Health Act, in line with previous commitments and the policy position set out in the 2021 White Paper, and ensure that it: (i) Explicitly prohibits the detention or placement in adult psychiatric units or police stations of children with mental health issues, learning disabilities and autism; (ii) Guarantees children’s right to be heard in decisions regarding their mental health care, to access therapeutic mental health services and to receive support from Independent Mental Health Advocates; (iii) Establishes standards for determining the duration of inpatient mental health care and for appropriate follow-up, with a view to preventing unnecessary and prolonged stays in inpatient mental health care. (b) Ensure that the Major Conditions Strategy includes infants, children and young people’s health, and prioritises the mental health of infants, children and young people; (c) Develop or strengthen strategies, with sufficient resources, for ensuring the availability of community-based therapeutic mental health services and programmes for children of all ages, and for providing comprehensive mental health promotion, screening for mental health issues and early intervention services in schools; (d) Urgently address the long waiting times for accessing mental health services, without stigma, including in the Overseas Territories; and ensure that the number of qualified medical professionals, including child psychologists and psychiatrists, is sufficient to meet children’s mental health needs in a timely manner and close to where they live; (e) Develop adequately funded mental health services that are tailored to the specific needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children, migrant children, children with disabilities and “young carers”, including through sufficient investments in specialist services; (f) Address the overrepresentation of children belonging to minority groups, children with autism and children with learning disabilities in inpatient mental health care; (g) Strengthen measures to address the underlying causes of poor mental health, eating disorders and other self-harming behaviours among children, and invest in preventive measures.
Date of UN examination
18/05/2023
UN article number
6, 18 (3), 24, 26, 27 (1)–(3), 33
Original UN document
Download the original CRC concluding observations 2023 on the UN website.