The Department for Education also spoke about an NHS England consultation, which closed early in 2022, on introducing waiting time standards for community and A&E mental health care.48 The new standards would comprise a 24-hour standard for urgent community mental health care, a four-week standard for children and young people who need non-urgent community mental health care, and a standard of one hour for people arriving in A&E and needing a mental health assessment. The Department for Educa...

The Department for Education also spoke about an NHS England consultation, which closed early in 2022, on introducing waiting time standards for community and A&E mental health care.48 The new standards would comprise a 24-hour standard for urgent community mental health care, a four-week standard for children and young people who need non-urgent community mental health care, and a standard of one hour for people arriving in A&E and needing a mental health assessment. The Department for Education described the setting of the standards as “important” as they would provide a “yardstick” for measuring performance. It said that people had welcome Type: conclusion | Number: 19 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: 5: PAC conclusion: We are extremely concerned about the waiting time for children to receive support for mental health issues and about the proportion of adolescent girls seeking help. 5: PAC recommendation: Government should report back to the Committee within s