If you are a child and have acute mental health issues it is probably not a good idea to live in Cornwall. The county has no residential facilities for you at all. It is not unusual for children to be moved and treated in places like Stevenage, Colchester and Pontypridd. If you replace the words “acute mental health issues” with cancer and imagine the conversation between parent and doctor:
“Good morning doctor.”
“Good morning Mr Kernow. I’ve got bad news, good news and more bad news for you. The bad news is that your daughter has cancer. The good news is that I have found a bed for her and treatment can begin straight away.”
“And what’s the other bad news?”
“The bed is in Colchester.”
“Oh.”
The family would be up in arms about this, so would the red tops. No one could possibly justify it, under almost any circumstances. The family would want to be near their stricken daughter and vice versa. The NHS would soon come up with solutions, even under this Tory government. But as it’s a mental health issue, let’s send sick children miles away from home. No one will notice.
It is not difficult to foresee problems with a child living hundreds of miles away. Who stays with the child? Where do they stay? How do they pay for it? What happens regarding the parents’ jobs? I am not a medical expert but I can see one or two issues here. It would be good for everyone to be together at such a difficult time being one of them.
The government is very fond of telling us that it now regards mental health as a serious matter, especially given that it costs the country tens of billions of pounds every year. Perhaps that is the main reason this government cares but the point is that it is one thing saying nice things and it’s quite another not to actually do anything. And guess what? Treating children in crisis will cost money. If money is no object to dealing with the recent floods – and quite right too – then it must be no object to children who are seriously ill. This is not about children who are a bit fed up. This is about vulnerable children in crisis, often in danger of losing their own lives.
Cornwall is not alone in having a major shortfall of provision for mental health services, it’s just another uncomfortable admission that the NHS is failing so many of our people.
We’re on a roll here with mental health. Get the word out that we can do better than this. If we can’t be bothered to save the children, what’s the point of anything?
