Child and adolescent mental health services

EDITOR,—I wish to correct an error that Michel Vanstraelen and I made in our article on purchasers' knowledge of, and plans for, child and adolescent mental health services.1 When we first contacted Camden and Islington Health Authority in April 1993 it was able to provide little information about child and adolescent mental health services. I have since been informed by the medical director and director of contracting, however, that later in the year the health authority spent considerable time thinking about its purchasing plans for child and adolescent psychiatry. Our statement that the information in our article was correct as of December 1993 was therefore incorrect.

I am aware of the richness of services available within the area served by Camden and Islington Health Authority and am pleased that the health authority has started to address the purchasing of child mental health services. However, the authority has been able to provide me with only a description of services written by the provider and some general quality standards for child and adult mental health, which have little relevance for child mental health services. This is similar to the level of information provided by other health authorities in our survey.

Substantial numbers of children have psychiatric disorders and need services. A recent report sponsored by the Department of Health shows that provision of services across Britain is patchy and often inadequate.2 Purchasers must start to pay more attention to this small but important area of the health service.