A CHILDREN’S charity says youngsters in Lancashire who have suffered abuse are being let down by a postcode lottery in mental health.

Data from the NSPCC estimates that more than 43,000 children, around one in eight, in the county have been abused or neglected.

But the charity’s analysis of the Lancashire Local Transformation Plan (LTP), which sets out how children with mental health needs will be cared for, found a failure to properly plan for the needs of children who had been abused or neglected.

NSPCC Trustee and clinical psychologist Professor Tanya Byron described the situation as ‘unacceptable’ and called for CCGs to ‘urgently review and improve their plans’.

Prof Byron said: “It is unacceptable that despite the huge number of children estimated to have been abused, and the known link between abuse and mental health problems, the vast majority of our health services do not have a proper strategy for how to take care of these children.”

The LTP, which involves all the area’s Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG’s), was given an amber rating by the charity, which means it plans some needs for children who have suffered abuse, but that more action is needed to improve this.

Peter Tinson, senior responsible officer for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing for the Lancashire and South Cumbria Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP), said a number of services were in place as a result of the work of the children and young people’s mental health and well-being transformation programme.

These include include primary mental health worker posts, an all age eating disorder service and Lancashire and South Cumbria crisis pathway for the admission and discharge of young people to district general hospitals in crisis giving consistency across the STP footprint

Mr Tinson said: “The figures provided by NSPCC for Lancashire are based across a wider geography and population than some other areas.

"There is strong partnership working across Lancashire and South Cumbria which aims to improve health and care for local people.”