Children in crisis ‘turned away’ from mental health support in Wales, report warns

Children experiencing serious emotional distress – including self-harm – are being denied access to mental health services in Wales because they do not meet strict thresholds, according to new evidence gathered from families.

Campaigners say parents are being left to cope alone with increasingly complex needs, with some describing the system as “abandoning” children at the point they need help most.

The findings, compiled by Llais and the Behaviour Support Hub, suggest a gap between Welsh Government expectations and the reality on the ground.

Wales has set out that anyone who self-harms should receive timely, compassionate and trauma-informed support. However, families say this is not consistently happening in practice.

Evidence from 462 families across the Cwm Taf Morgannwg region highlights repeated concerns about access to services, long waiting times and unclear referral pathways.

Parents reported that children in severe distress were often deemed not “ill enough” to qualify for specialist help from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), leaving them without support.

Others described waiting years for autism and ADHD assessments, while struggling to navigate what many called a confusing and inconsistent system.

One parent said: “You’re left chasing, constantly wondering if anyone is actually dealing with your child.”

Another added: “You’re holding everything together, but you don’t know what to do if things get worse.”

For some families, the consequences have been severe.

One mother described how her child’s mental health deteriorated after being turned away from support.

“My child began expressing thoughts of self-harm, and I was terrified. I took them to our GP, who referred them to CAMHS… The referral was rejected.

“We were told my child wasn’t deemed to be a serious risk and that I should try self-help apps.

“While waiting, self-harming behaviours escalated. It was incredibly frightening and heartbreaking to watch.”

Her child was only accepted for treatment after a further referral, by which point their condition had worsened significantly.

“As a parent, this journey has been exhausting and isolating. It has highlighted how critical timely, compassionate support is,” she said.

The report suggests that the current system risks creating avoidable crises by failing to intervene early enough.

In response, a new regional strategy has been developed in south Wales aimed at addressing what campaigners describe as a “critical gap” in provision.

The “Whole System: Whole Heart” approach in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg area is designed to improve early access to support and ensure children do not fall through the cracks.

Plans include clearer and more joined-up referral pathways, expanded early intervention services for those below CAMHS thresholds, and increased support for families while they wait for assessments.

The strategy also aims to recognise private diagnoses, reduce duplication between services and introduce multi-agency wellbeing panels to improve coordination.

Dan Price, regional director for Llais, said the findings had provided a stark insight into the challenges facing families.

“Our partnership with the Behaviour Support Hub has given us clearer insight into the challenges families face,” he said.

“We welcomed the strong commitment shown by the health board to listen directly to the many families who shared their experiences.

“Receiving a response from service leaders is an important milestone, but our work does not end here.”

Beth Tingle, from the Behaviour Support Hub, said families were often overwhelmed by the complexity of the system.

“Families encounter long waiting lists, unclear pathways, and a constant need to ‘prove’ their child’s needs,” she said.

“What consistently emerges is that early, compassionate understanding, combined with coordinated support, can greatly improve outcomes.”

Both organisations stressed that while frontline staff were working under significant pressure, urgent improvements were needed to ensure vulnerable children are not left without help.

In response to the report, the Welsh Government said: “We are taking a cross-Government approach to mental health and wellbeing, focusing on prevention and earlier intervention.

“Our 10-year Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy sets out our ambition for open-access and same-day mental health support, and the standards recently published will support the delivery of high‑quality services consistently across Wales.

“We have also invested £13 million each year in a whole school approach to transform how young people access the help they need.

“In February 2025 we committed an additional £13.7 million over 2 years to extend the Neurodivergence Improvement Programme to March 2027, of which £5.6 million annually has been targeted at our ambition to eliminate three‑year waits for children’s neurodevelopment assessments by March 2026.”