The number of children and young people needing mental health support has hit an ‘unprecedented’ high after surging by more than half after the start of lockdown.
There were 395,369 referrals to NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services between April and October last year, a rise of 52 per cent on 2020. Lockdown began on March 23, 2020, with most restrictions in England ending in July 2021.
Official figures also showed an increase in emergency referrals to crisis care teams, which handle the most serious cases. These were up by 28% in 2021 compared to 2019, before the pandemic.
Mental health charity YoungMinds, which uncovered the data, said record demand combined with a lack of funding for vital NHS services meant many families were not getting the help they needed.
YoungMinds saw the number of calls to its email, web chat and crisis text line – for children and young people up to the age of 25 – rise by almost half (48%) between 2019 and last year.
The charity is calling for a nationwide rollout of early support hubs for under 25s.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is one of many groups to speak out on the ‘devastating’ impact of Covid on youngsters’ mental health, calling the current situation ‘alarming’.
One in six children aged 6 to 19 now have a ‘probable mental disorder’, the Mental Health of Children and Young People in England Survey found in 2021.
The NHS study revealed 58.2% of 17 to 19 year olds had possible eating problems (up from 44.6% in 2017) while over half (57.2%) of those aged 17 to 23 were having issues sleeping.