A new report by the Mental Health Network has warned that mental health services for children and young people are reaching a tipping point.
The NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network warns that there is growing concern that the mental health system for children and young people in England is reaching a 'tipping point', as the coronavirus crisis brought with it uncertainty and anxiety caused by the lockdowns, school closures, isolation from friends and peers, bereavement and loss, and extra stresses and pressures on families.
Because of this many children and young people will be left without vital mental health support unless the government goes further to invest fully in services where they are most needed.
The report argues that the pandemic has worsened existing challenges, including health inequalities, with potentially serious consequences, in particular for the mental health of children and young people from BME backgrounds, lower-income backgrounds, those who identify as LGBTQ+, and those with special educational needs or neurodevelopmental differences.
Health leaders are concerned about increased transmission of coronavirus in the autumn as more offices reopen and as pupils return to school, and the additional toll this disruption and uncertainty could take on the mental health of children and teenagers.
The number of children and young people contacting mental health services has rising by nearly a third in the last year. In March 2020, there were 237,088 children and young people in contact with mental health services, compared to 305,802 in February 2021.
Also, according to modelling from the Centre for Mental Health, at least 1.5 million children and young people may need new or additional mental health support as a result of the pandemic.
The NHS Confederation is calling for additional funding from the government in the imminent Comprehensive Spending Review to tackle the growing demand among children and young people within the NHS and local authorities, as well as in schools and other educational settings. In the last spending review, £79 million was set aside for 2021/22 to support the NHS to care for children and young people with mental health problems, as well as an additional £40 million announced in June and £17 million for mental health initiatives in schools.
However, leaders are clear that these short-term emergency cash injections need to be replaced with sustainable funding for the longer term given the levels of demand for mental health support they are seeing. Additionally, the NHS Confederation is calling for a stronger focus on prevention and early intervention services, including addressing the social factors affecting children and young people’s mental health, such as economic background and issues such as unstable home environments.
Sean Duggan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network, said: “A generation of children and young people requiring support for their mental health risk being failed because the NHS is not being adequately resourced to support them. While health leaders are grateful that investment from the Government has begun, as well as for the prioritisation children and young people’s mental health has been given, the continued toll of the pandemic has shown that it may not be enough to respond to the rising demand for their services. Funding must be both long-term and sustainable.
“We have seen outstanding examples from our members working together to support the mental well-being of their younger patients, through both preventative services and inpatient care, but nationally, it is clear we are now at a tipping point.
“Many young people are developing mental health problems as a direct result of the pandemic and with Covid-19 cases expected to rise in the autumn, this is a worrying position to be in. Additional and targeted investment is essential, as is a real commitment from the government to continue expanding and improving services so that we can avoid failing children and young people when they may need help the most.”
