MENTAL health services providing specialist help for emotionally vulnerable children in Cumbria are still "some distance" from where they should be, a new report has revealed.

The document notes significant progress has been made over the last year to improve care for under 18s suffering mental health problems across the county - with the introduction of Headstart in schools in Barrow and Carlisle and the promise of an extra £1m in funding.

But it also states health bosses within the Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, the body responsible for providing mental health services in the area, must now maintain the rate of progress if services for children are to be considered up to scratch in the future.

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John Macilwraith, corporate director of children and families services for Cumbria County Council, explained the review showed young people felt increasingly under pressure, resulting in more referrals to specialist mental health services than ever before.

"In Cumbria over the last five years, all emotional and mental health support services have faced serious challenges and have struggled to consistently meet demand," he said.

"We are now beginning to see some tangible improvements in the type and range of support services on offer but, as the task and finish group have highlighted, there is still further distance to cover on this journey."

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The new review was commissioned by the county council last year following concerns over the quality of the area's Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service from patient campaign group Healthwatch Cumbria, the National Autistic Society and from a growing number of parents.

An independent report on the Camhs service in 2012 identified serious shortcomings within clinical practice and in the way the service was commissioned and managed.

It made a number of recommendations for improvement - which the latest publication states are not yet all met.

And an inspection by government health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, published in April, declared the Camhs service "requires improvement" as a result of missed targets and long waiting lists for appointments for patients.

The report, which is set to be discussed by members of the county council's cabinet committee today, states: "Overall the task group was reassured that progress has been made over the past year, and that this is reflected in the CQC report into Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust.

"However, there is still some distance for the Camhs service to travel before it can demonstrate it has addressed all of the shortfalls identified by an independent report in 2012."

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