MedWire News: The children of people with mental health disorders often go 'unnoticed' and need more support to help them cope with their parent's illness, says a UK children's charity.

"Children rely on their parents for emotional and practical support, but when parents are affected by mental illness their role can become a struggle," explained Alison Webster from the charity Barnado's.

The organisation says that around one in six adults in the UK experience some form of mental illness during their lives, and that many of these people are likely to be parents.

Indeed, studies have indicated that a quarter of women referred for mental health treatment have a child who is less than 5 years old.

However, in a new report called 'Family Minded', Barnardo's says that the needs of children with parents affected by mental illness are often overlooked.

The charity says that children do not get enough information about their parent's illness and that support for such children, particularly when their parents need hospital treatment, is sometimes lacking.

Among other measures, Barnado's are calling for child-friendly visiting facilities to be made available for children when their parents are treated as in-patients, and the provision of age-appropriate information to help children understand and cope with their parent's mental illness.

The charity also calls for increased awareness of the problems faced by children with parents affected by mental illness in order to improve services for such children and their families.

Martin Narey, chief executive of Barnardo's, said: "Barnardo's experience is that, at times, children go unnoticed when a parent needs mental health treatment. Promoting collaborative working between adults' mental health services and children's services is critical. Everyone needs to remember the patient's crucial importance as a parent."

Alison Webster added: "Our proposals would mean that the whole family would get more of the support they need, during what can be a very difficult time."