More than 400,000 children and young people are being treated for mental health problems every month. It is the greatest number on record. Thus, raising warnings of a historic crisis in child and adolescent welfare.
Experts claim that COVID-19 has exacerbated issues such as anxiety, depression, and self-harm among school-aged children. The “relentless and unsustainable” increase in their demand for assistance may overload already overburdened NHS facilities.
According to the latest NHS numbers, the number of “open referrals” – problematic children and young people in England receiving treatment or waiting to begin care – reached 420,314 in February. It is the most since records began in 2016.
Since February 2020, the number has increased by 147,853, a 54 percent increase. It increased by 80,096 in the last year alone, a 24 percent increase. The 411,132 instances reported in January marked the first time the number has surpassed 400,000.
Mental health organizations applauded the fact that a record number of young people are receiving therapy. They are concerned, however, that the figures are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the genuine number of people who want assistance. Arbitrary eligibility requirements are preventing many more under-18s from receiving assistance.
Open referrals
Under-18s who are being treated by a child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) or who are waiting to see a specialist after being assessed as needing support against treatment thresholds are known as “open referrals”. GPs, teachers, and mental health organizations say the criteria are too stringent. Thereby, excluding many people who aren’t very ill, and amount to care to ration.
“There is an unprecedented crisis in young people’s mental health, further evidenced by these record numbers of young people needing help from the NHS,” said Olly Parker. Parker is the head of external affairs at Young Minds. “The record-high number of children and young people receiving care from the NHS tells us that the crisis in young people’s mental health is a wave that’s breaking now.”
It was positive that more and more under-18s are receiving psychological support. But he said, “the rise in the number of young people seeking help from the NHS is relentless and unsustainable. Over the past two years, young people have experienced isolation, disruption to their education, and reduced access to support, including from counselors and GPs. All of these things have massively impacted their mental health, but these figures are only the tip of the iceberg and will continue to rise.”
He stated that many young people reach a point of crisis before receiving the care they require.
Evidence from the Children’s Commissioner for England suggests help from CAMHS is available within six days of references in some areas. But families in other areas must wait up to 81 days for their child to get help. It doesn’t consider the fact that some children have self-harmed or had suicidal thoughts.
Rejections in treatment
A study of GPs published last month by the adolescent mental health charity stem4. CAHMS rejected half of the referrals they made of under-18s suffering from anxiety, depression, conduct disorder, and self-harm. It is because of their symptoms were not considered serious enough. There were no scars on a 12-year-old kid’s neck who had a ligature in his chamber. Therefore, he was denied aid.
While more under-18s were seeking help, Nihara Krause, a consultant clinical psychologist and the founder of stem4, said it was unclear from the numbers how many received appropriate treatment.
“Teachers and GPs say that children and mental health in mental health distress are either being rejected in record numbers because their difficulties do not meet the high threshold for treatment, or they are stuck on long waiting lists. These latest figures also lack any real detail to warrant claiming there has been a marked improvement in accessing effective treatment. They just show greater need.”
She claimed that in recent years, the prevalence, severity, and complexity of youth mental health problems had increased. In addition, loneliness caused by Covid, greater online time, altered habits, and exposure to family stress all contributed to higher levels of discomfort.
“What we’ve seen across our frontline services in UK schools is rising numbers of young people struggling with anxiety, self-harm, eating difficulties, and suicidal thoughts,” said Catherine Roche. She is the chief executive of Place2Be. It provides counseling to 450 primary and secondary schools across the UK with 250,000 pupils.
The pandemic toll on children’s mental health
Place2Be and the National Association of Head Teachers conducted a survey of school heads and other staff in February. They found that a large majority saw an increase in mental health problems among students since the start of the academic year. It includes low self-esteem (86 percent), depression (76 percent), and persistent feelings of anger (68 percent ).
Roche encouraged the NHS to provide more early intervention services to help problematic young people before their mental health deteriorates.
Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s national mental health director, said: “The toll of the pandemic has inevitably had an impact on the nation’s mental health, with more young people than ever before accessing NHS services. As these figures show, demand continues to skyrocket, with third more children treated in February this year compared to February 2020.”
She said that the NHS had responded by expanding mental health teams in 4,700 schools and colleges. They are establishing 24-hour mental health crisis telephone support services for people of all ages. It currently receives 20,000 calls every month.
According to NHS data, there is a lack of mental health beds. Therefore, some under-16s who are sick enough for mental health treatment are receiving treatment in adult mental health wards. The guidance states that this should never happen. An undefined number of under-16s spent 50 days in adult wards in February.
