Western Morning News (Saturday)
Lockdowns take their toll on mental wellbeing of the young
Figures show a rise in mental health referrals for the under-18s and prescriptions for antidepressants,
ARISING number of children and teens were prescribed antidepressants during the pandemic across Cornwall, data has revealed.
Mental health workers say young people have been hit hard by the events of the past year-and-a-half, including suffering loneliness and isolation and disruption to their education and future plans.
Now figures confirm that the number of young people aged under 18 on antidepressants in the county reached an all-time high through the pandemic – especially in lockdowns – as did the numbers of individuals seeking mental health support and referrals.
Since April 2015, the number of under-18s receiving prescriptions in Cornwall for antidepressants has seen a steady increase according to data from NHS Digital which shows the numbers for Cornwall’s Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Kernow.
But the figures went up by nearly half, from 213 to 310 in February 2020, just before the first lockdown hit. This trend continued during the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly during periods of national lockdowns.
In March 2020, when the first UK lockdown began, the number of young patients being prescribed antidepressants in the county was 312.
This number increased by nearly 20 per cent later in the year, peaking at 365 and 369 young patients respectively around the time of the second and third lockdowns, in December 2020 and January 2021.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) guidance recommends antidepressants be given to young people with moderate or severe depression alongside talking therapies, following assessment by a mental health specialist.
There were also 840 new referrals to mental health services in Cornwall starting in March this year. That was an increase compared to the 625 recorded in March 2020, and it was also up from 665 in February 2020, just before the start of the pandemic.
In England overall, the number of young patients prescribed antidepressants went up from 23,858 in April 2019 to 24,272 in April 2020, during the first lockdown.
The number peaked in March 2020, when 26,965 young people were prescribed antidepressants. There was another peak in December 2020, with 26,031 people.
A Mental Health Foundation spokesperson said: “The Mental Health Foundation’s study of mental health in the pandemic makes it clear that older teenagers and younger adults are among the groups who have suffered most.
“Their education, social lives and careers were massively disrupted by lockdown restrictions – and many are still finding their studies and work damaged by the pandemic, as well as their hopes for the future.
“Friendships are especially important to young people and so not being allowed to socialise has been particularly hard on them, in a way that has affected their mental health. Over the year since lockdown started, the study found that they were much more likely than older adults to feel lonely, anxious, hopeless and suicidal.
“What will help them recover includes confidence that they will be able to get high-quality education, training or employment, along with basic needs such as enough food, decent housing and money for essentials.”
In February, Ethan Butler, of Launceston, took his own life, aged 16. His father Rob says he and other young people suffered worst in the lockdowns and he was let down by the county’s mental health services.
Rob said: “Early intervention might have prevented it. The problem down here at the minute is the amazing services here have been cut to the bone. I am angry at CAMHS (children and adolescent mental health services), but I’m not stupid and I understand the pressure they are under. I’m a realist who understands the pressure. More needs to be done. I think schools have a huge responsibility.
“With lockdown and everything, he went downhill again, and on the 12th of February took his own life.
“So many kids have found lockdown hard. It’s had a huge, huge, huge impact. Firstly, you took them out of school. Secondly, from their friends. Thirdly, away from family.
“Eth was really close to his uncle, you take them away from that support network. I don’t think as a society, government, schools, etc, paid enough attention to the fact this was damaging children.
“It’s alright for us adults, but for a child it’s a lot, lot harder. I think lockdown had a massive effect.”
In March this year, Emma Thomas, chief executive of mental health charity YoungMinds, told a health and social care committee inquiry into children and young people’s mental health services that 30 per cent of young people with existing mental health problems had lost the support during the pandemic that they normally relied on.
Tom Madders, director of campaigns at YoungMinds, said: “Many young people we work with have struggled to cope with the changes brought on by the pandemic, with some experiencing social isolation, anxiety, disruption to education, or fears about their future – particularly during the lockdowns.
“We know that some young people have dealt with multiple pressures, especially those who have been bereaved or experienced other trauma during this time. Young people who are already experiencing inequalities have often been disproportionately affected.
“While antidepressants can play a role in supporting some young people’s mental health, it’s crucial that they are never seen as a substitute for fast access to talking therapies.”
He added: “With referrals rising, it’s crucial that we see extra investment in specialist mental health services – but also in early support for young people.”