Pic: The Care Quality Commission will make full recommendations in March 2018

Young people suffering from mental health problems are facing long waiting times and are receiving poor access to care they urgently need, reports James Murray

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) submitted a review of the care provided and said that the current services could be “putting young lives at risk”.

Speaking about the report, Dr Paul Lelliott, deputy chief inspector and lead for mental health said: “This review has given CQC an important opportunity to not only consider the quality of care as found in our inspections, but also take a step back and look at the system as a whole.”

He continued: “The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health sets out plans to improve access to high quality care close to home and more money has been allocated to develop these vital services.”

London South Bank University (LSBU) student, Michael, who received care at the University’s wellbeing centre said: “It is quite a bit of a wait and back in a time when I really needed it, I kind of wanted as soon as possible, but that’s not the fault of the college – it’s just because a lot of people are using the service. But it is really helpful no matter what the situation is.”

Another LSBU student Lauren had a different view on the service provided: “This has been one of the best services I have used, along with the doctors at Waterloo medical. It all got pushed through in around 48 hours which, coming from Newcastle, where everything takes around a month, down here it was really quick.”

When talking about the service provided by the NHS, another student, Sarah, said: “I tried to go through the NHS, but there was a six month waiting list for six sessions, so then I went private.”

The CQC will now make full recommendations when they publish their thematic review in March 2018.