"A long way to go" for children's mental health services
A wellbeing worker for children across Craven and Bradford has told us they've had to change the way they support them mentally
A children's support worker in Craven has said it will take a long time for those suffering due to the pandemic to get their mental health back on track.
It's as a report by the Children's Commissioner has been released which shows only a third of those struggling are able to access treatment, despite national average waiting times decreasing from 43 to 32 days from 2019 to 2022.
Dame Rachel de Souza said increased investment is making a difference to children who are struggling, but the coronavirus pandemic has made the challenge "greater".
Beth Webber from Know Your Mind Bradford and Craven and Mind in Bradford said young people are still trying to get over the loneliness felt during lockdowns.
"It's been a really tough couple of years for children and young people and the development of support isn't going to happen over night; it isn't going to be a quick fix. But I think there is a real sense that we're working really hard to meet the needs of young people.
"We've had to be incredibly creative and flexible. It's really enabled us to think outside the box in how we deliver support like making support available online or taking support outside into different settings.
"The isolation of the last two years has had such a strong impact in terms of their ability to stay connected. We are wired for connection and to form those relationships and to tap into those friendships and for a lot of young people that all stopped.
"Any mental health issues that aren't tended to early on are only going to get worse. Our focus is based on early intervention because the evidence is there and we know that it works."
Average waiting times have decreased "substantially" since 2019-2020 - from 43 to 32 days - and NHS data also suggests more children are being accepted for treatment.
But the commissioner's report found some children are still waiting too long to start treatment, many are not being accepted, and there are striking regional disparities for access and waits.
And fewer were referred for treatment in the first place - for the first time in four years - which is likely due to "disruption of the normal channels for identifying problems during the pandemic".
This is despite NHS data suggesting the number of children with a probable mental health condition jumped to around one in six in 2020-21.
This suggests only around a third of children (32%) with a probable mental health disorder are able to access treatment, the report states.
Dame Rachel said her recent Big Ask survey, of more than half a million children, found they are not asking for "rocket science" but for someone to talk to when they need support, and earlier access so problems do not worsen.
She said: "Whilst the majority were happy with their mental health, we know some are struggling.
"Where they need support from children's mental health services, I see improvements, and a focus on further improvements, but also there's still a long way to go.
"Despite reductions in some waiting times, children still wait too long, even if fewer are being turned away."
The new briefing is the Children's Commissioner's fifth annual report on the state of children's mental health services in England, and the first with Dame Rachel in post.
Overall, 497,502 children in England were referred to children's mental health services in 2020-21 - 4% of all children in the country.
The proportion of children whose referrals were closed before starting treatment fell to 24% from 27%, which suggests more of these children are being accepted for treatment.
National spending on child mental health services has risen for the fourth year in a row to Ă‚ÂŁ881 million - a real-terms increase of 4.4% from the previous year.
Eight out of 10 (82%) CCGs increased spending over the same period, and over half of CCGs (135) are spending up to 1% of their budget on children's mental health, the benchmark set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.
However, 24 CCGs reduced spending between 2019/20 and 2020/21
Spending in some areas was as low as Ă‚ÂŁ16 per child (NHS Halton CCG), compared to Ă‚ÂŁ165 per child by the NHS Isle of Wight CCG.
Mark Russell, chief executive of The Children's Society, said the fall in referrals in the year to March 2021 was "concerning", and that they have since surged, including for "really severe mental health crises".
He said: "While shorter waiting times to access treatment are welcome, the Children's Commissioner's analysis shows that far too many children are still being turned away.
"Our research with GPs last year found that it is common for young people to be referred and rejected a number of times, as they repeatedly fall below the threshold for CAMHS (children and adolescent mental health) services.
"We also found that, shockingly, more than a quarter of young people struggling with their mental health don't ask for help because they 'don't want to inconvenience anyone'.
"It's clear that there are still major barriers and stigma around mental health for children and young people and early support is essential."
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We recognise the impact the pandemic has had on everyone, especially children and young people who have faced disruption to their home lives and their education. That is why we have committed an additional Ă‚ÂŁ500 million this year to support those most affected, including Ă‚ÂŁ79 million for children's mental health services.
"We are expanding and transforming mental health services in England - backed by an extra Ă‚ÂŁ2.3 billion per year by 2024 - to allow hundreds of thousands more children to access support. We have also appointed a Youth Mental Health Ambassador to assist us in supporting the mental health needs of our children and young people."