Mental health

Child mental health clinicians promote mental wellbeing and work with children and families with mental health difficulties. Find out more about the sub-specialty or our key topic page on child mental heath.

News

Time to raise the standard: children presenting to emergency departments in mental health crisis

10 May 2019

For the first time, the College has developed an audit toolkit to support Emergency Departments treating children to monitor how well they are meeting the 70 “Facing the Future” standards. Dr John Criddle and Dr Virginia Davies discuss the development of the toolkit and its impact for children in me...

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Restraint and restrictive intervention – consultation response

In 2018 we responded to the Department of Health & Social Care’s consultation on their draft guidance for reducing the need for restraint and restrictive intervention for children with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and mental health needs. We welcome the aim to eliminate the inappr...

Mental health

Autism

Learning disability or learning difficulty

Health policy

Safeguarding

Child protection

Resource

Care of unaccompanied migrant children and child victims of modern slavery – consultation response

We responded to the Department for Education in 2017 with recommendations that child health professionals be included in the assessment process to determine whether a child is the victim of modern slavery and human trafficking. Government must allocate more financial resource in order for Local Auth...

News

A focus on children's wellbeing - reflections on our St David's Day Conference

29 March 2019

For the final chapter in the "fetal life to adulthood" series devised by Dr Abby Parish, ST6 trainee at Swansea's Singleton Hospital, this year's conference looked at mental health and wellbeing. Here Abby reflects on another successful event before she leaves her position as our Wales Trainee Repre...

News

Mental health proposals could “stop problems escalating” - RCPCH responds to Review of Access Standards

11 March 2019

NHS England has published a Clinical Review of NHS Access Standards. It contains proposals to speed up access to mental health services as well as revised measures for treatment in A&E.

News

RCPCH responds to Scottish Government funding announcement

6 March 2019

The Scottish Government has today announced that more than £50 million is to be spent on improving access to mental health services for expectant and new mothers. Officer for Scotland, Professor Steve Turner, responds.

News

Little improvement on reducing avoidable child deaths, new data shows

22 February 2019

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today published 2017 data on avoidable deaths.

News

“UK is lagging behind” – RCPCH responds to Nuffield Trust report

20 February 2019

The Nuffield Trust and the Association for Young People's Health have today published the first ever international comparison of young people's health measures over time, comparing the UK to 18 other high-income countries. Professor Russell Viner, President of the RCPCH, responds.

News

Time to Talk- Supporting children and young people with mental health

6 February 2019

There has been a lot in the media about mental health recently, with the government promising that mental health will be a key focus of the NHS Long Term Plan. But we know that lots of parents will still have niggling questions. Dr Lee Hudson, Mental Health Lead at the Royal College of Paediatrics a...

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BPSU study - Severe chronic fatigue syndrome / myalgic encephalitis (CFS/ME)

This BPSU study will collect information on all young people aged between five and 16 years who receive a diagnosis of severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Myalgic Encephalitis (CFS/ME). The study aims to explore how many young people across the UK and Ireland have severe CFS/ME, the length of time fr...

Community child health