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The National Autistic Society has called for outside intervention to deal with the situation at Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Cumbria. 
The charity has written to the Care Quality Commission and NHS England, requesting an immediate inspection of local services and a review of commissioning arrangements.
It comes as the NAS has backed the Evening Mail’s ‘Healthy Young Minds’ campaign.
Emma Shepherd, area policy and participation officer for the north at NAS, said: “Camhs in Cumbria are in disarray: staff shortages are forcing under-pressure families to wait far too long for appointments, parents are all too often unable to access support in times of crisis, and things aren’t improving.
“Serious concerns about the service were first raised in October 2012, but the response has been feeble and recommendations haven’t been implemented.
“We no longer feel confident that Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has the ability to resolve these serious structural and clinical problems without outside intervention.”
Scores of families have been left to cope with their child’s mental health problems without any regular, meaningful support while the service is stretched due to unprecedented demand and two substantive psychiatrists.
Children on the spectrum are particularly susceptible to mental health problems which can quickly escalate into crisis situations. More than seven in 10 children on the autism spectrum have a mental health problem and as many as one in 10 children in Camhs are autistic.
A Barrow mother of a 12-year- old boy with autism and a moderate learning disability has come forward to complain about the battle she has faced for treatment.
The boy’s mental health deteriorated so much that his anxieties, sleeping problems and catatonia left him unable to leave his house and carry out basic tasks like washing and getting dressed on his own.
She said: “It took ten months to get an appointment with Camhs for my son and although things are moving forward slowly, he still hasn’t received a full psychiatric assessment or an offer of appropriate support therapies.
“He’s now missed almost a full year of education. I have complained and expressed my concerns about the services within Cumbria Health Partnership, Camhs and social care. I have had replies acknowledging my letters but nothing has been followed up as yet.
“I feel helpless, unable to properly support him. Each place I went to for help seemed to pass me elsewhere or there was a huge waiting list, or we didn’t meet the criteria.”
A statement from Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said work had already been undertaken to improve the provision provided by Camhs – which oversees the county’s specialist ‘tier three’ service.
It said: “We have been open and transparent with our partners, commissioners, stakeholders and the wider public regarding the issues we have faced and the amount of work we have undertaken to improve our Camhs service.
“Not all autistic children need the specialist help of the Camhs teams. This is why we have been working with commissioners and our partners to develop a service for those with the more mild mental health conditions sometimes associated with autism.
“Although there has been some improvement in waiting times in recent months, waiting times are unacceptably long and lack responsiveness in some areas.”
<u><strong>Campaign support</strong></u>
THE National Autistic Society has supported the Evening Mail’s Healthy Young Minds campaign which aims to secure fairer funding for children’s mental health services, improve access to specialist help and encourage early intervention.
Emma Shepherd said: “We share the campaign’s aim of making sure that vulnerable children and young people in Cumbria can access the specialist help they need and are pleased to see MPs also pledging their support.
“Camhs has a vital role to play in this. This is why it’s so important that Camhs has the necessary funding and staffing, which must include people with expertise in autism.”
to read the Cumbria mental health trust's response to the National Autistic Society's "failings" warning
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