The number of children in emergency mental health care of England It has risen by 10% per year, with long waiting lists for regular NHS care pushing it further to a crisis point.
There were 34,793 emergency, very urgent or urgent reports to child and adolescent mental health crisis team services between April and October 2024, an analysis of official data by mental health charity YoungMinds found. This is compared to 31,749 in the same period in the first half of 2023.
Many children in need of emergency care – some fatally or seriously ill because of eating disorders – are stuck in NHS waiting for boards for months or, in the worst cases, several years.
The chief executive of YoungMinds, Laura Bunt, said the figures were concerning and showed that thousands of children urgently need help before they become seriously ill.
“Early help would help prevent more young people from becoming more or less capable, but their mental health deteriorates, pushing them into crisis and in some cases putting their lives at risk,” he said. “This is a disgusting betrayal of young people and their mental health.”
He said the tweaks to the system are already enough to deal with the crisis. “We need major reforms that are at the root of why so many young people are struggling. It also makes it easier for young people to get mental health help when they need it. In order for this to happen, the government must urgently fulfill its promise to develop first aid kits in every community.”
Analysis of the data found there were 4,424 new very urgent reports to mental health crisis by care teams between April and October 2024, up 13% from 3,912 in the same period last year.
There were 24,886 new urgent reports to crisis care teams between April and October, up 13% from 22,045 the same year earlier. New emergency services were down 5% to 5,483.
At the same time, figures show there was a 10% rise in urgent, very urgent and emergency care referrals by 2024, YoungMinds said.
Chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ child and adolescent faculty, Dr Elaine Lockhart said the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis and a number of other factors have had a significant impact on children’s mental health in recent years.
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“We’ve seen a rise in the number of young people, partly because of this, experiencing mental health problems,” he said. “Thousands of mental health services help thousands of young people recovering from mental illness every year, but are struggling to manage falling demand due to staff shortages and a lack of resources. This contributes to longer waiting lists and more young people reaching a crisis point before they can access the care they need.”
Separate data reported by the PA Media agency revealed a 5% rise in the year in hospital admissions related to the eating disorders anorexia and bulimia.
Unfortunately Health and Social Care recognized that too many children and young people were waiting too long to access mental health care. A spokesman said: “By adding 8,500 mental health workers, we will provide young people with access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and future youth center in every community.”