Children with mental health problems are being failed by the NHS, the Liberal Democrats have warned.

Health spokesman Paul Marsden called on the government to make good on its pledge to improve access to mental health services for children and adolescents.

Forum Response: The Depression Alliance

Jim Thompson, director of The Depression Alliance, told ePolitix.com: "We are being failed twice by mental health services in the NHS, both as children and as adults. Not only have we seen a massive increase in young people affected by depression but we are also seeing the legacy of years of neglect in mental health.

"Many people who come to us now are people who have experienced depression as young people, have not received appropriate treatment and have suffered progressively worsening health ever since. These are people in desperate and by now often urgent need.

"We need to ensure that not only are they taken care of but that the next generation are equipped with knowledge to enable them to look after their mental health, supported by appropriate resources and early interventions. Depression is a very treatable illness and yet it is responsible for nearly 3/4 of all suicides.

"It is unacceptable for the government to claim that mental health is one of their top 3 priorities when ministers routinely talk at length about the other two - cancer and heart disease - while barely mentioning mental health. It may not be a vote-catcher, but while young people are not receiving the treatment they need, it is a national disgrace.

"Depression Alliance will be running National Depression Week from the 7th - 13th April. We will be looking at depression in the young because young lives depend on it. We will be producing desperately-needed resources designed to help those working first-hand with young people to better understand and support the very people who are our future."

Forum Response: Barnardo's

A spokesman for Barnardo's told ePolitix.com: "Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that health is the basis for a good quality of life and that "mental health is of overriding importance in this".

"Unfortunately, it is widely recognised that there has been an increase in the proportion of children suffering from emotional and behavioural problems in recent years, including eating and conduct disorders, depression, self-injurious behaviour, suicides and para-suicides.

"These, and other manifestations of poor mental health affect around 20 per cent of the child population at any one time, with the poorest and most deprived children being disproportionately affected. Given the increasing size of the problem, investment in child and adolescent mental health services has been inadequate.

"Barnardo's believes that a well resourced CAMHS is essential to alleviating children's distress when problems occur, and also to reduce the likelihood of such problems persisting into adult life."

Forum Response: SANE

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of mental health charity SANE, said: "Our mental health helpline, SANELINE, receives over 60 calls a week from young people under the age of 25 who are in need of support and information.

"We are concerned about the rise in the numbers of young people, particularly girls, who are harming themselves in increasingly violent ways and how difficult it is for them and their friends and family to reach people who can understand or help."