Rising need in young for mental health aid

ALMOST 700 children and teenagers are on a city’s waiting list for a first appointment with mentalhealth services after a dramatic increase in demand for support.

Council figures reveal there has been an almost 50 per cent increase in demand for community child and adolescent mental health services in Sheffield and a 60 per cent rise in the number of referrals accepted compared to 2018/19.

Waiting times are improving but council officials admitted there continue to be challenges in providing a crisis response to young people.

In December, there were 699 children and young people on the waiting list for a first appointment, although many of those would have an appointment arranged. If someone is deemed high risk, they are seen within two weeks.

In Sheffield, 73 per cent of young people are seen within 18 weeks for a first assessment, while the national average is 79 per cent.

Council officials said access and waiting times were monitored carefully. A weekly tracker meeting was held to review patients and escalate cases for young people at greatest risk.

There is a new six-week treatment programme to help improve waiting times and Sheffield Children’s Hospital has recruited extra staff to provide support.

Officials said the demand reflected a national picture. Sheffield also has the Healthy Minds programme, an early-intervention scheme to spot issues as soon as possible, which is being rolled out across schools.

A council report said: “We would expect as a result, and due to increased awareness of emotional wellbeing and mental health, to find that demand increases for services.

“We have developed a robust early-intervention response to emotional well-being and mental health, which was clearly a gap previously.”