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The lack of emphasis given to children’s mental health services has been branded a "national scandal" by a member of a working group of the National Service Framework for Children.

Jo Williams, chief executive of Mencap, told delegates at the Association of Directors of Social Services international conference in Belfast that doctors and nurses were creaking under an "avalanche" of cases of children suffering from mental health problems.

"In several places I visited, I thought some of the people I met were significantly depressed and not coping with demand," she added. "Most of the agencies were saying they weren’t sure what they were supposed to be doing."

Many of these patients initially present themselves at hospitals, often creating an overwhelming demand on health workers’ time.

Williams, who is co-chairperson of the standards for hospital services sub-group of the children’s NSF, said: "A young person may be taken to a district general hospital and cause absolute chaos for 72 hours. They may refuse to go anywhere, end up being placed on an adult ward and, because of the shortage of specialist treatment facilities, end up being sent to the first available place."

She added that hospitals were not geared up to cope with such patients, resulting in the whole experience causing the young person more harm. Too often hospitals have to deal with crisis situations that end in a young person being sent to an inappropriate treatment unit, she added.

Williams said this situation resulted in a lot of money being "thrown away" because of the lack of understanding between different parts of the system.

"We need to be a bit more proactive in working together with agencies. For example, is there a procedure that everyone knows about that swings into action when someone arrives at hospital?"

Williams also said that the extra money the government made available last year for children and adolescent mental health services would take time to make an impact on the quality of services. The waiting list for gaining access to CAMHS was still between two to three years, something that young people found inexplicable, Williams said.

She said it was likely the five remaining modules of the NSF - the first of which on hospital services was published in April - would be published in 2004 and not this year as originally planned.