'Dramatic' rise in young people needing help for serious mental health problems
A North Yorkshire therapist says lock down had a huge impact
Last updated 13th Jan 2023
There has been a dramatic rise in the number of children needing treatment for serious mental health problems including eating disorders, figures show.
NHS data analysed by the PA news agency shows a 39% rise in a year in referrals for NHS mental health treatment for under-18s, to more than a million (1,169,515) in 2021/22.
This compares with the previous year 2020/21 - pandemic year - when the figure was 839,570. In 2019/20 there were 850,741 referrals.
The England-wide data includes children who are suicidal, self-harming, suffering serious depression or anxiety, and those with eating disorders.
Nicola Birkin is a specialist eating disorder therapist who runs clinics in York and Northallerton, she says she isn't surprised by the figures: "The lockdowns had a massive impact on people, the fact that people weren't able to go to work or go to school, isolated in their own homes, that was a massive influence over people trying to find other ways to deal with their distress."
She says despite the rising figures there may be many more people who are suffering in silence: "There is a lot of stigma still with people with eating disorders, and mental health disorders generally. So people won't be sharing necessarily. The more people that can talk about it now and sharing their struggles the better, it's really important."
Eating disorders stats show huge rise in hospital admissions
Meanwhile, NHS Digital data analysed by PA shows hospital admissions for eating disorders are rising among children and young people.
Among under-18s, there were 7,719 admissions in 2021/22, up from 6,079 the previous year and 4,232 in 2019/20 - an 82% rise across two years.
From April to October 2022 - the most recent data available - there were 3,456 admissions, up 38% from 2,508 for the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.
There were 3,011 admissions from April to October 2020, and 4,600 for the same period in 2021 when the full effects of the pandemic were felt.
For people of all ages, including adults, the data suggests 2022/23 could see the highest number of hospital admissions for eating disorders..
"More staff needed"
Dr Elaine Lockhart, chairwoman of the child and adolescent psychiatry faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, told PA the rise in referrals for children and young people reflects a "whole range" of illnesses.
She said "specialist services are needing to respond to the most urgent and the most unwell", including youngsters who have psychosis, suicidal thoughts and severe anxiety disorder.
Dr Lockhart said targets for seeing children urgently with eating disorders were sliding "completely" and more staff were needed.
"I think what's frustrating for us is if we could see them more quickly and intervene, then the difficulties might not become as severe as they do because they've had to wait," she added.
Dr Lockhart said children and young people's mental health had been getting worse before the pandemic, with increasing social inequality, austerity and online harm playing a role.
"The government must get a grip of the situation"
Tom Madders, director of communications and campaigns at YoungMinds, said the figures were "deeply concerning", adding: "We know from speaking to young people and our own research that the last year has been one of the most difficult for this age group, emerging from the pandemic to more limited prospects for their futures, coupled with an increase in academic pressure to catch up on lost learning, and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
"Sadly, the numbers come as no surprise following a string of similar statistics in recent months underlining the emergency in young people's mental health.
"The current state of play cannot continue. The Government must get a grip of the situation."
The data shows that anorexia is the most common eating disorder leading to hospital admission among all ages, with 10,808 admissions in 2021/22.
Bulimia is the next most common, with 5,563, while other eating disorders accounted for 12,893 admissions.
Tom Quinn, director of external affairs at eating disorders charity Beat, described the figures as "extremely concerning".
He added: "Hospital treatment is usually reserved for those who are most unwell, and so a rise in hospital admissions indicates that young people are not getting local treatment quickly enough, and that their eating disorder may have become more entrenched.
"The Government and NHS must create a plan to fill workforce gaps, which where appropriate should include allocating trained and supervised non-clinical staff.
"More eating disorder training for healthcare and education professionals would also help to spot the signs of eating disorders quickly and help ensure that young people are signposted to support at the earliest opportunity."
Government response
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "Improving eating disorders services is a key priority and we're investing £53 million per year in children and young people's community eating disorder services to increase capacity in 70 community teams across the country.
"We are already investing £2.3 billion a year into mental health services, meaning an additional 345,000 children and young people will be able to access support by 2024 - and we're aiming to grow the mental health workforce by 27,000 more staff by this time too."