Children’s mental health ‘crisis’ with one in 12 needing help last year amid rising demand, report warns

Rising demand has plunged children’s mental health care into a ‘crisis’. Last year, one in twelve children were referred for help, a damning report has revealed.

Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner, said the challenges of modern life are taking an unprecedented toll on the emotional well-being of young people.

But she warned the NHS is ill-equipped to deal with the fallout caused by “harmful” social media, a cost of living crisis and the pandemic.

It means people in need are having to wait ‘far too long’ for care, while their fragile mental state is at risk of worsening.

Dame Rachel’s annual review shows that demand for children’s mental health services ‘continues to outpace the availability of support’.

It shows that in 2022/2023 almost a million children and young people – 949,200 – were referred to child and young people’s mental health services (CYPMHS).

This equates to 8 percent of the 11.9 million children in England.

Of these, almost 305,000 people entered treatment, but at the end of the year 270,300 were still waiting.

In addition, 372,800 (39 percent) had their referral closed before even receiving any treatment, and 32,200 waited more than two years for their second contact with services.

Boys, younger children and white children all wait longer on average for mental health care.

The analysis also revealed geographical differences in waiting times across the country, from an average of 147 days in Sunderland to just four days in Southend.

The most common reason for a referral for mental health treatment is fear.

Dame Rachel said this generation of children has faced “uniquely uncertain and challenging times”, highlighting that an increasing number of children are “being exposed to the harmful effects of social media, cyberbullying and online exploitation”.

“I don’t think it is an exaggeration to talk about a crisis in children’s mental health and the services needed to support them,” she said in the report’s foreword.

‘Support must be provided quickly and locally for children who need it: no child should be on a waiting list for months or years.’

The NHS estimates that 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 in England are likely to have a mental health condition.

Dame Rachel said: ‘For children and young people, two years can be a significant part of their young lives, so the long wait times experienced by some children in this report can feel painfully long.

‘Children are still waiting far too long to access the support they need, and for too many children the speed at which they access support still depends on the luck of where they live.

‘With the right early support, many children would not need to access mental health care.

‘We need a fresh, long-term view when it comes to children’s mental and emotional health and wellbeing. Children need an environment – ​​both online and offline – where they feel happy, safe and supported, and where they do not have to feel like second-class citizens when it comes to accessing mental health care.”

Commenting on the report, Olly Parker, head of external affairs at the charity Young Minds, said: ‘We are in a mental health emergency and it is heartbreaking that so many young people are struggling to get the support they need. need.

“This generation has grown up with a unique set of pressures.

The NHS estimates that 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 in England have a probable mental health condition (stock image)

‘When young people ask for help, they are confronted with a system that is stretched to its limits.

‘Many have to wait a long time or are turned away because they are told that they are not sick enough. The consequences of this can be devastating, with many feeling even sicker.”

The Children’s Charities Coalition – Action for Children, Barnardo’s, NCB, NSPCC, The Children’s Society – added: ‘Too many children and young people are becoming increasingly ill while their names are on a waiting list.’

An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘The latest figures show the NHS is treating more young people than ever before, with 48 per cent more children and young people accessing support since 2019/2020, and the health service is expanding this provision as quickly as possible within the current five-year financing arrangements to meet this increasing demand.

‘But we know there is still more to do and that is why there are also plans to ensure that more than one in two students in schools and colleges have access to an NHS mental health support team by spring 2025 – significantly more than the original target.’