Children of people with mental health problems at risk of harm, study reveals

Report by Ofsted and Quality Care Commission reveals that 30% of adults with mental health problems have children

Children whose parents or carers have mental health problems are poorly provided for and sometimes left at risk of harm, according to a report to be issued on Monday by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, which also calls on the government to make it mandatory for data on such children to be collected.

Analysis of serious case reviews where children either died or were seriously harmed between 2007 and 2011 showed that mental health difficulties in their families were among the most common factors, along with drug and alcohol problems and domestic abuse.

In one case, two children aged eight and 10 were only taken into care when their mother went into hospital, even though a report had already noted her worsening anxiety and depression after her partner left, that she had not showered for six months, rarely left the house and spent most days asleep.

The joint report from the two bodies, What about the Children?, says that although an estimated 30% of the 9 million adults who experience mental health problems have children, there is no national obligation to notify relevant authorities or collect information on how they are coping.