SCARBOROUGH and Ryedale CCG has been given the lowest rating for its support of children with mental health needs.

The NSPCC analysed the latest annual plans published by NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), which set out how they will care for children’s mental health and found that in Yorkshire and Humber 64 per cent were failing to properly plan for the needs of vulnerable children, including those who had been abused. All 195 CCGs in England were given a traffic light rating by the NSPCC and for 2017/18, with 146 rated amber and 21 rated red, including Scarborough and Ryedale CCG.

In Yorkshire and Humber that means an estimated 107,171 abused children are facing the consequences of their local CCGs failing to address their mental health needs.

The NSPCC is calling on all NHS CCGs to urgently recognise and plan for the increased mental health needs of children who have been abused.

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 the England that are still not properly planning for the mental health needs of abused children and young people. It is crucial these children are supported to get back on track and lead healthy lives.

“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 Scarborough and Ryedale CCG, said: “It’s difficult to understand why we would be given a ‘red rating’ without first being able to look at the research methodology used by the NSPCC.

“Their research seems to be based solely on a desktop search of the local transformation plans without any other source of intelligence.

“The four North Yorkshire and York CCGs have also invested in additional local children’s mental health services in recent years. Collectively, we’ve committed well in excess of £1.5 million (£300,000 in Scarborough and Ryedale) in additional investment for children and young people’s mental health services since 2016.

“We are continuously working to improve the services we 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.”