Improving children and young people’s mental health services

Local data insights from England, Scotland and Wales

In this briefing, we present analysis from the Networked Data Lab (NDL). Led by the Health Foundation, the NDL is a collaborative network of local analytical teams across England, Scotland and Wales. These teams analysed local, linked data sources to explore trends in mental health presentations across primary, specialist and acute services.

This briefing includes:

• background on the trends in mental health disorders among children and young people and existing pressures on services, as well as an overview of the main policies in place in England, Scotland, and Wales to improve children and young people’s mental health
• findings from NDL partners: we examine trends and patterns of service use, including the use of primary care, specialist mental health care and acute services, along with differences by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics
• examples of how local NDL teams used linked data to improve services in their area
• insights for national and local policymakers.