Thousands of children in need of mental health care denied specialist treatment in England; Christian charity calls it 'appalling'

Thousands of children were denied mental health care services in England last year, according to review done by the Children's Commissioner, something that a Christian charity deem as "appalling."

"It's disgusting, I don't think there's any other medical condition you can have that where that would happen," said Rachael Newham of Think Twice, as quoted by Premier. "If you sprained your ankle you'd probably get a course of physio. So the fact that actually it's not even the basics that are being offered, it's utterly appalling."

In the review of the 2015 mental services in England, the Childen's Commissioner found that 28 percent of the 248,000 children, or almost 70,000 kids, referred to mental health services were denied specialist treatment, 13 percent or 9,000 of which were patients with life-threatening conditions. This was reportedly based on 2015 data from 48 of 60 child and adolescent mental health service trusts.

According to the BBC, the reason that the kids were turned away was mostly because their illnesses were deemed not serious enough, although the review found that these include patients who exhibited psychosis, anorexia nervosa, and who tried to harm themselves.

Moreover, those who were not turned away had to wait for a long time, 100 days on average, to get treatment. The average waiting time in a trust Northwest England is reportedly around 14 days while one in West Midlands is 200 days. Those kids who miss appointments are likely to have their access restricted, as 35 percent of the trusts would have it that way.

"I don't yet know quite why they are being turned away, but certainly being turned away or put on a waiting list for up to six months is clearly playing Russian roulette with their health," Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield said on BBC Radio 4's "Today."

"I've heard from far too many children who have been denied support or struck off the list because they missed appointments," The Guardian also quotes Longfield as saying. "I've heard from others whose GPs could not manage their condition and who had to wait months to see a specialist whilst struggling with their conditions."

Longfield said that more people are seeking help because there is more awareness now, and the trusts have told her that there had been "too much demand" for their services. Some put the blame on "austerity policies," such as Dr. Carl Walker, chair of the European Community Psychology Association Task Force on Austerity and Mental Health, who, according to The Independent, said that the NHS is "under financial duress" and the "government must be held to account for their actions." Sarah Brennan of charity group Young Minds also said that "years of underfunding have left the whole system overwhelmed."

According to The Guardian, a government spokesman said that they have introduced "the first ever mental health access and waiting time standards" because no one in need should be turned away nor should they have to wait too long for mental health care. He said that £1.4 billion will be placed into supporting the young all over the country.

"This investment is just beginning, and is creating new joined-up plans to improve care in the community and schools to make sure young people get support before they reach a crisis point," the spokesman said.