DOCTORS fear mental health is not being treated with the seriousness it deserves and “heads should roll”.

GPs from the North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) found Redbridge Council cuts have led to service users struggling to access Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAMS).

Andy Walker, who lives in Seven Kings, demanded action in an area he believes is handled worse than any other area of policy.

He said: “It’s an outrage. The council need to act today and provide the funding. Funding has been maintained for mental health services in Barking and Dagenham and Havering.

“It suggests mental health isn’t being treated with the seriousness it deserves. Would they play around with law and order or education like this? I don’t think so.

“People will feel vulnerable as a result of this. If a child comes to harm as a result of this, heads should roll.”

The scale of the impact cannot be measured at this stage due to the complex arrangement of services, GPs said.

Councillor Elaine Norman said issues around funding lay with NELFT and Redbridge Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

“Arguments between agencies about funding critical services are to be avoided where possible.

“The council has written to both the CCG and NELFT urging them to bring the current impasse to an end and to engage in dialogue about a realistic level of funding for CAMHS services in Redbridge.

“The council has also expressed the view that the funding made available under the national CAMHS transformation programme needs to be utilised and the promised range of services needs to be implemented without further delay.”

Cuts to CAMHS were agreed in cabinet in January 2016, to be implemented in 2017/18.

The timing was designed to give the NHS warning to minimise service destabilisation.

The council blamed cuts from central government for their inability to maintain CAMHS funding.

A spokesman for the CCG said: “Improving mental health services is a key objective for the CCG because we know some people wait too long for therapy.

“This year we have increased access to Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) with low waiting times and good recovery rates.

“The CCG, Local Authority and NELFT are working together to review services for children and young people in Redbridge and the wider area.

“As a result, NELFT has already taken swift action to manage any risks and we continue to work jointly to further improve access for patients to these services.”

A spokesman for NELFT said: “The trust is committed to ensuring that children and young people are safe and are able to access services within Redbridge.

“Following the completion of a Fundamental Service Review (FSR), which was well received by the CCG, the trust has submitted a business case to the commissioners that will meet the needs of the local children and young people with emotional and mental health needs.

“The trust, at its own cost, has also agreed to bring in extra clinical staff in the interim process. The current services continue to work hard to review all referrals received and prioritise according to need, in partnership with all local services.”

A spokesman for Redbridge Council said: “The proposal to reduce the level of funding provided by the Council for the CAMHS service was agreed by Cabinet in January 2016 for implementation in this financial year.

"Historically there has been a lack of investment in Redbridge CAMHS by the CCG and due to national funding reductions to local authorities, we can no longer afford to fill this gap.

“We have to focus on children at risk of harm, children in need, looked after children and children with disabilities with our remaining funds. Redbridge Council continues to invest in excess of £300,000 in our CAMHS services each year.”

World Mental Health Day took place on Tuesday, October 10.

Have you been affected by cuts to CAHMS? E-mail Rudi.abdallah@london.newsquest.co.uk.