PROBLEMS accessing mental health support are putting care experienced children and young people in danger, according to a leading charity, which is calling on the First Minister to make changes that they say will save lives.
Who Cares Scotland, which last Friday handed over a letter to Nicola Sturgeon, calling for urgent action to improve the care system, told the Sunday National that one of its key asks is for better access to counselling and mental health support.
In its accompanying report – “we don’t have to wait” – a reference to public commitments made by the Scottish Government to fix problems with the care system now rather than wait for recommendations from the Independent Care Review – it calls for counselling services for all care experienced young people as a default.
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The report also calls for the deaths of young people in care – which could be related to overdoses or suicide – to be recorded, with lessons learned from inquiries and made public.
The Sunday National spoke to the charity’s advocacy and participation manager Caroline Richardson, who also grew-up in care and has worked for the charity for more than 20 years.
Richardson said it was common for young people in the care system to struggle to access mental health support, or to face waiting lists of up to 26 weeks when they were in crisis, despite their needs being judged to be “priority”.
She said the trauma of difficult early experiences, family separation and growing-up in a system that struggled to provide the love children need, led to widespread difficulties, which meant there was an urgent need for change.
Who Cares claims that all children in care should be able opt in and out throughout their time in care, as well as after leaving, to ensure their wellbeing and safety.
Richardson was taken into care at just four-years-old and had eight placements in residential units and foster care, including an age-inappropriate placement aged 11 where most other residents were teenagers and she describes being “scared every day”.
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After leaving care at 17 and going to college she stared work with the charity’s advocacy team 20 years ago.
She believes she would have benefited from the access to counselling the charity is now calling for.
She said: “I would really like to see more support for young people with mental health issues. It’s a huge thing. Of all the care leavers that I have worked with I can’t think of one that has not suffered a mental health issue.
“I had a conversation a couple of days ago with a member of staff who was really upset, who is working with a young person just now, who is in trauma – very young – and talking about wanting to end their life.
“The social work department tried to put a referral into psychological services and they were told they couldn’t work with the young person until they were out of crisis. That is a common thing. That young person could not access any other counselling or support.”
She said the situation could not be more serious, with young people often in life and death situations. The number of deaths is unknown, however last year research by former Labour politician Kezia Dugdale found 84 young people who have been in secure care at some stage died “prematurely” in the past decade. Charities estimate care experienced care people are 20 times more likely to die under 25 than the rest of the population.
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“I have been here since 1999 and one of the things that has floored me more than anything else is that not just myself but almost every single person in this organisation has been affected by the death of a care experienced person,” added Richardson.
“It is devastating. I have experienced it personally four times and that is four times too many.
“There doesn’t seem to be any national outcry or scrutiny on this. It’s dealt with at a local level, a significant case review done by a local authority. They look at lessons learned – a, b, c, let’s move on. It is appalling.”
Fiona Duncan, chair of the Independent Care Review, backed the call. She said: “We need better ways of assessing the mental health of children and young people in care, and we need to remove the practices that can make it hard for social workers and other professionals building trusted relationships, so that people feel safe and supported.”
Adam Bennett, co-chair of the Independent Care Review’s health and wellbeing work group, who has been in foster care since he was 13, added: “It’s really important that anyone in care has access to mental health support.
“Some children and young people come into care with trauma. The Independent Care Review is determined to make sure children and young people are listened to and have the chance to heal.”
A Scottish Government spokesman did not comment on the need to fix problems in the the care system. But he said that mental health of young people was “an absolute priority for the Scottish Government” with focus put on early intervention.
A £250 million package of measures would help see more children and young people get the support they need in the community – including in all secondary schools – rather in the acute Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) settings, he added.
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