A CHILDREN’S charity has warned that mental health services in York, Harrogate and Scarborough are “failing” to properly plan care for youngsters who have been abused.

The NSPCC analysed annual plans published by NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), which show how they will care for children’s mental health.

The charity rated CCGs using a traffic light system and the researchers gave Vale of York CCG, Harrogate and Rural CCG and Scarborough and Ryedale CCG the worst ranking - red.

Early support for children who have suffered abuse is “crucial” to helping vulnerable youngsters have a healthy future, according to the charity.

Almudena Lara, NSPCC’s head of policy and public affairs, said: “We recognise the hard work of NHS staff providing much-needed mental health services to young people. These ratings are not a reflection on those services and the staff working to deliver them.

“But our analysis shows that there are CCGs across England that are still not properly planning for the mental health needs of abused children and young people. In future we want to see more CCGs not only recognise the needs of these children, but go further and ensure services are there to support them.”

A spokesman for Vale of York CCG said more than £1.2 million additional investment has been put into children and young people’s mental health services since 2016. Meanwhile a spokesman for Harrogate and Rural CCG said more than £350,000 has been invested in its services since 2016.

A joint statement from Vale of York CCG and Harrogate and Rural CCG said: “The NSPCC report rightly points out that children who experience some form of abuse or neglect are at greater risk of developing mental health disorders.

“The refreshed local transformation plans, which each CCG developed in response to the independent Mental Health Taskforce’s Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, sets out how CCGs, local authorities, health providers and voluntary groups will work to support good emotional and mental health for children and young people.

“These plans demonstrate that the CCGs fully support early identification and assistance to children and young people who have suffered abuse, as well as offering them a single point of access to services.

“The Vale of York CCG and the City of York Council work together to commission bespoke treatment packages for children who have suffered high levels of trauma including sexual abuse, where their needs cannot be met by universal services. In North Yorkshire some mental health services commissioned are specifically for children in care, with many of these children in care as a result of identified issues regarding abuse.

“In York and North Yorkshire when a referral is made to the CAMHS provider’s single point of access team, they ask whether the child is subject to a child protection plan or a child in need plan. This information is then considered when the referral is triaged. It’s also important to recognise that many children and young people will access CAMHS with no known history of abuse or neglect, only for such experiences to become apparent throughout the course of their therapeutic interventions.

"The four North Yorkshire CCGs have invested in additional local children’s mental health services in recent years.

“The CCGs are continuously working to improve the child and adolescent mental health services they commission and value feedback from NSPCC and other organisations. We will, of course, take this report into consideration when reviewing the effectiveness of these services, and the commissioning of new services in the future.”