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

RCPCH responds to paper on social media and adolescent wellbeing and mental health

A paper published in the Lancet finds that, for teenage girls, almost all of the effect of very frequent social media use on wellbeing was due to increased exposure to bullying and reduced sleep and physical exercise. Meanwhile, for teenage boys, the impact on wellbeing appears to be due to other in...
News

Improvements made but more work to be done, says Britain's largest evaluation of NHS maternity and neonatal services

RCPCH President responds to latest National Maternity and Perinatal Audit and says whilst the expansion of perinatal mental health support is particularly welcome, support services are under immense pressure. He urges an immediate moratorium on any further cuts so "pregnant women and their children ...
News

Tougher baby food regulations needed to improve child health, say experts

The measure forms part of a range of recommendations made by RCPCH as part of our ambitious “Prevention Vision”. The amount of free sugar in baby food should be reduced and the Government should place a “moratorium” on public health funding cuts, according to bold recommendations outlined today by l...
News

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

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...
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

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...