A TEENAGER had to wait 316 days to receive mental health treatment after being referred in Dorset last year.

A freedom of information (FOI) request sent by the Echo also disclosed the longest waiting time for a person under 18 to receive mental health treatment following referral so far this year, at 64 days.

Dorset Healthcare made timely access to services its number one clinical ambition in a 2020-2025 five year report, however the FOI reveals this has not always been met.

Nick Harrop, head of external affairs at the charity YoungMinds, said long waiting times could worsen the impacts of mental health issues.

“If young people have to wait a long time for mental health treatment or can’t get the level of support they need, it can lead to things getting worse," he said.

“Across the country, we’ve heard from young people who’ve dropped out of school or started self-harming before they could get the right support.”

Clare Hurley, head of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for Dorset HealthCare, said delays in treatment “occasionally” happened when a person “needs particular intervention in a particular part of the county".

She said the longest figure of 316 days was not typical and did not represent the average waiting time.

On the same FOI the Echo asked how many people were turned away from mental health treatment.

Dorset Healthcare did not hold such data, but did reveal the number of people under 18 in the county who were discharged following one appointment; which is an assessment.

In 2020 that figure was 235, and so far in 2021 is 252 people.

Ms Hurley said some people decide they do not want further treatment after the initial assessment, or use another service.

The pandemic was cited as part of the reason more young people were accessing mental health services across Dorset.

There were 10,034 young people waiting to be seen by CAMHS at the end of September this year.

Ms Hurley said: “More young people are accessing mental health services than ever before, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and we are expanding our provision to respond to that demand.

“This includes developing the CAMHS Gateway service to provide a single point of access and initial assessment across the whole of Dorset; establishing mental health support teams for schools around the county, and providing more home support for young people in crisis.

“Increased staffing is also helping us to reduce waiting times for treatment, and the pandemic has seen us successfully trial new ways of working with young people, including more online, virtual support.”

However, Mr Harrop said these issues were not new, and called for national action to help young people get the support they need.

He said: “Even before the pandemic, too many young people in England struggled to access early mental health support in their community, and demand is likely to continue to rise.

“That’s why we need the Government to invest in a national network of early support hubs, so that all young people can get help when they need it, long before they reach crisis point.”