Children and young people are facing rapidly growing waiting times for health services on top of the disproportionate burden on their mental health brought on by the pandemic.
The data outlined in the report notes:
- In April to September 2021, there was an 81% increase in referrals for children and young people’s mental health services on the same period in 2019. The increase for adults (19+ years) in the same period was 11%.
- During this same period, there were over 15,000 urgent or emergency crisis care referrals for children and young people. A 59% increase from pre-pandemic, the same period in 2019.
- One in five waited more than 12 weeks for a follow-up appointment with mental health services between April 2020 and March 2021 increasing the risk that conditions can deteriorate further.
- The number of children and young people (under 19 years) waiting to start treatment with a suspected eating disorder quadrupled from pre-pandemic levels to 2,083 by September 2021.
- During the pandemic, the number of children and young people attending A&E primarily for an eating disorder doubled, from 107 in October 2019 to 214 in October 2021.
- Children attending A&E with an eating disorder are having to spend longer there than those with other diagnoses. In October 2021, 65% of children attending A&E with an eating disorder spent over four hours in A&E, more than three times longer than the average for all diagnoses.
In response Dr Camilla Kingdon, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said:
The statistics from the Nuffield Trust highlight with cold clarity the impact of the pandemic on children and young people. Pre-pandemic children’s mental health services were already strained, but an 81% increase in patient referrals to CAMHS services in 2021 compared to 2019, shows our children are struggling – and action needs to be taken.
Our children have coped with the stresses presented by the pandemic in a remarkable way. However, supporting children and young people with their mental health is absolutely essential. Three quarters of life-long mental health problems in the UK start before the age of 25 and today’s children and young people are considered to have worse mental health outcomes compared to previous generations. Early diagnosis is key, yet we are seeing more patients in distress and with mental ill health, who are accessing CAMHS at more advanced stages of illness.
As paediatricians, we continue to put children at the centre of care. While we recognise that services are stretched, this should not deter anyone at all from speaking to a health professional. If you are worried at all about your or your child’s mental health – do get in touch with your local health service.
The Nuffield Trust’s report goes on to highlight the wider pressures facing paediatric care including that the waiting list for planned paediatric hospital care has grown from 245,654 in April 2021 to 300,465 in November 2021 – a 22% increase in just seven months. These figures are stark – and yet do not take into account the many other ‘hidden’ waiting lists of children waiting for community therapies and diagnostic assessments, especially for autism. A similar picture is replicated in countries across the UK, with lengthening waiting lists for children and young people.
An urgent response is needed from governments across the UK. From each country we need a fully costed workforce plan that ensures we have the right numbers of appropriately trained health professionals supporting our children. In parallel, government strategies across the UK must urgently address mental health and wellbeing, tackle inequalities and poverty and truly ensure that following the pandemic no child is left behind.