Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary Norman Lamb MP calls for dedicated services for young people with mental health needs.

In Cornwall Today (Tuesday) the Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary and former care minister Norman Lamb MP today visited Cornwall to support calls for a dedicated unit for young people with mental health needs in Cornwall.

Visiting Cornwall College, Mr Lamb heard about the proposal for a specialist young persons mental health unit in Cornwall based at the College site. Currently there is no such unit in Cornwall, which means that young people from Cornwall who need specialist treatment need to be sent out of the Duchy, frequently hundreds of miles from their homes.

The proposed unit has the support of Cornwall Council, Cornwall College and Cornwall NHS Commissioning Group, but the funding from NHS England is not available. It is also supported by the Invictus trust, a Cornwall based charity that supports young people with mental health needs. Meeting Raoul Humphreys acting Principle and CEO of Cornwall College and Sophia Cowburn from the Invictus Trust, Mr Lamb said: “Cornwall desperately needs a facility such as this, that allows young people to get the treatment they need near their homes, their family and their friends.

This is an exciting and innovative project that will transform lives and the Invictus Trust, Cornwall College and other partners are proposing a facility that will be unique in the UK.”“This scheme illustrates the need for a comprehensive cross party long term approach to funding the Health Service. It is just not good enough that young people are not getting the care and support they deserve, and that they have to travel great distances across the country to get the specialist help they need,” said Mr Lamb.