Desperate call for under-18s needing Mental health funding as urgent care now ‘critical’
THE NUMBER of under-18s needing urgent mental health care has hit critical levels as the pandemic and a lack of resources blight a generation.
The NHS is now dealing with the highest number of youngsters at crisis point and being referred for help since current records began in 2018.
There has been a 152 per cent increase in referrals since then, including those who have self-harmed.
Charities and support organisations are also swamped with pleas for help.
In November last year, the latest figures available, almost half a million children under 18 attended a mental health appointment or were seen by NHS mental health services, which works out a rate of 665 every hour.
The shock statistics also reveal a surge in under-16s being forced to stay on adult mental health wards and in hospitals away from their homes and families, which experts say shows the system is at breaking point.
“The sharp increase in young people needing urgent mental health support since the pandemic hit, alongside record numbers of children staying on adult wards, show us just how far the goalposts have shifted on young people’s mental health,” said Tom Madders, director of campaigns and communications at Youngminds, which analysed the latest
statistics. “Even before the pandemic, many young people struggled to access support from mental health services.
“But those services are now facing unprecedented demand and the reality is too many young people and families just can’t get the help they need.”
Frontline Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) have struggled with funding cuts that amount to a fall of 23.5 per cent spending per
person between 2014-15 and 2020-21, said the Local Government Association.
Chronic underfunding has decimated children’s services and experts warn staff are working under intense pressure to meet increasing caseloads.
The current lack of resources devoted to youngsters’ mental health is underscored by a litany of damning statistics:
Around 38 per cent of children have to wait longer than the 18-week NHS target
to get their first assessment. Some 15 per cent of CAMHS consultant psychiatrist posts are now vacant.
Placing children on hospital wards more than 30 miles from home was up by 14 per cent year-on-year last November to a record high of 288 under-18s – despite a pledge to end the practice by last April.
Mental health hospital beds – both adult and child – have been reduced by 25 per cent over the last 10 years. Dr Elaine
Lockhart, chair of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “Children and young people have faced unprecedented mental health challenges during the pandemic.
“Those needing to be admitted to an inpatient unit will suffer even more when no bed is available locally and they have to receive treatment far away from home.
“Being far removed from family and friends and the local services they are used to engaging with can increase the time patients spend in hospital and have long-term implications for their recovery.
“Despite Government committing to reduce the number of out-of-area placements for children and young people, too many still face this reality.
“Truly doing away with this unacceptable practice requires targeted investment in services and workforce to ensure children get the help they need, when they need it and where they need it.”
The Department of Health and Social Care says the NHS long-term plan is providing an extra £2.3billion a year to expand mental health services, providing help for 345,000 more children and young people by 2023-24. However, campaigners argue that problems have got worse since the plan was drawn up.
The Sunday Express is campaigning to ensure all vulnerable youngsters are treated with urgency and is calling for early support hubs in every community to improve the speed and availability of treatment.
Tom Madders added: “The evidence is clear that a greater range of mental health support for young people must be available.
“The Government needs to urgently equip the NHS to deal with the immediate pressures services face but must also make sure its incoming mental health plan has a real focus on young people and sets clear goals, across Government, for addressing this crisis.
“Young people need to get help early on, close to home, when they first experience poor mental health which is why we are calling for a national network of early support hubs to be rolled out as soon as possible.”