GPs are telling children with mental health problems to exaggerate their symptoms in order to receive NHS treatment, a report by watchdogs warns.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said too many children and young people were unable to get any help until they reached “crisis point” amid widespread rationing of treatment.

The cases include a girl with an eating disorder denied help on the grounds she “wasn’t thin enough,” encouraging her to further deteriorate.

The review of mental health services for children and young people said restrictions on treatment meant vulnerable patients were being told that their best hope of help was to exaggerate.

“Some young people had been advised by their GPs to ‘pretend things are worse than they are’ to increase their chances of being accepted into specialist Child and Adolescent Health Services,” the report warns.

Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, said some children were only getting help after attempting suicide.

“Thousands of children are not receiving access to the mental health services they need. Too often referrals are only made when a child is at crisis point and sadly some children have even told me that that they felt they had to attempt to take their own life in order to access treatment,” she said.