A recent report by the MPs has suggested that waiting time for children to access mental health services is too lengthy, and care given to children on wards may be inappropriate.
MPs have raised concerns about mental health issues rising among children. NHS data has proposed that Covid has exacerbated mental health crises since the beginning of the pandemic two years ago. Covid restrictions prevented children and adolescents from socialising with friends and family, pursuing extra-curricular activities and even attending school. This has placed additional pressure on metal health services that were already being stretched prior covid.
Recent research has suggested that mental health of children is in decline, with alarming reports of children self-harming and requiring emergency assessment.
Reports from the NHS Digital Survey 2021 have estimated that possible mental health disorders in 2020-2021 have increased from one in nine to one in six. Mental health disorders can include self-harming, eating disorders, depression, suicide, anxiety and more.
Issues on inappropriate care in mental health services have been raised due to the long waiting times, children being placed far from home and not fully understanding their rights.
In response to the report, the government has pledged to transform NHS services by providing them with an extra £2.3bn per year by 2023-2024. This will allow many children to access the support that they deserve. They also arranged an extra £500 million to support children most affected by the pandemic this year.
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis is likely to further complicate mental health care for children and adolescents, as the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan declared a ‘major incident’ due to the rising cases of the Omicron variant. This means that the NHS and health services may face further ongoing disruption in an attempt to control virus levels. Patients awaiting mental health support may therefore be hit with even longer waiting times, creating even more of a backlog.
