Edwards et al. (2024) provide valuable insights into crisis mental health support for children and young people (CYP), shedding light on the increasing demand and challenges faced by this vulnerable population.
With a significant rise in emergency referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) crisis care teams in England, the need for timely and effective mental health support for CYP has never been more crucial.
Lengthy waits for support mean that more children and young people are presenting at the point of mental health crisis, increasing the demand on emergency departments. This is a major public health concern.
Methods
This systematic review by Edwards et al. aimed to explore the organisation of crisis services for CYP, understand their experiences of crisis care, assess the effectiveness of current crisis support models, and determine the goals of crisis interventions.
Seventeen databases and supplementary sources were searched, and studies were screened based on eligibility criteria. Quality appraisal of research reports was performed to ensure the reliability of the included studies.
Results
