Cllr Sharon Thompson has written to Gillian Keegan MP, Minister for Care and Mental Health, to address the inadequacy of specialist provisions for children and young people in acute mental health distress across the UK, and has invited the Minister to discuss innovative plans being devised for Birmingham‘s Children and Young People‘s Mental Health Services.
In her letter to the Minister, Cllr Thompson outlined the disproportionate impact of Ofsted assessments, who have closed specialist facilities at short notice following inspections and created an anxiety for registered managers about agreeing to take on children with complex and additional needs. Further, she suggested that for every Tier 4 Mental Health bed available, for children with highly specialised and intensive treatment requirements, there are 50 children in need of that bed.
Read Cllr Thompson’s full letter here
