Birmingham Children's Hospital mental health strategy

Figures showed that for the Birmingham Children's Hospital (BCH), the number of children and young people walking through their doors with a mental health problem has almost doubled in the last few years.

Consultant Dr Ben Stanhope works in the emergency department at the BCH and said not many parents or carers know what to do in a mental health crisis:

Birmingham Children's Hospital is part of a new mental health service called Forward Thinking Birmingham.

The partnership means anyone aged between 0-25 can access a drop-in centre in the city seven days a week and a 24-hour crisis line.

Associate Director of Nursing, Elaine Kirwan, explained what it hopes to achieve: