Father of Molly Russell slams long CAMHS waiting times as ‘tragedy’

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The father of a 14-year-old girl who killed herself slammed long children’s mental health service waiting times as a “tragedy” and said the UK was failing to protect young people. Email [email protected] open image in gallery Molly Russell took her own life in November 2017 after viewing harmful content online Of those, a total of 289,047 children have been approved for treatment under mental health services but are still waiting to have their first appointment – an increase of 50,000 in just two months. Her father said long CAMHS waiting lists were a ‘tragedy’ Tom Madders, whose charity Young Minds analysed the figures, said: “Another month of record referrals is further proof of the youth mental health emergency. Every young person should be able to access the mental health support they need when they need it, and we need urgent action from the government to make this a reality.” After losing Molly six years ago, Mr Russell now campaigns for tighter regulation around harmful content on social media and increased suicide prevention for people under the age of 25.