Do this if you’re worried about your child’s mental health

Growing up today can be incredibly tough, no matter how resilient children and teenagers are. The reality is that the pandemic, cost-of-living crisis, social media and peer pressure have led to a surge in young people suffering from a whole host of mental health problems and figures released last week make for extremely worrying reading.

NHS data, analysed by the charity YoungMinds, reveals England experienced a 10 per cent increase in children needing specialist treatment for severe mental health problems.

The shocking data show a worrying increase in emergency, very urgent and urgent referrals for under-18s – to 34,793 between April and October 2024. Despite all the talk of the importance of mental health awareness, children and young people who are struggling with serious issues, anything from anxiety to suicidal thoughts or eating disorders, are being scandalously betrayed by the Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

These services are at absolute breaking point and children with mental health problems are often waiting years to be assessed by NHS services – that’s if the referral is accepted at all. The latest figures available (2022-23), indicated that nearly 40,000 children were experiencing waits of at least two years to access support. More than a third of all children referred ended up having their cases closed before they were able to access treatment.

I suspect this could be because a substantial number had to wait so long, they stopped being classed as children and had to be referred to adult services. Essentially, CAMHS are so swamped with referrals that many are growing up before they get the help they so urgently need. Frustratingly, timely intervention is crucial in under-18s to prevent serious issues from escalating further and possibly developing into a life-long illness.

These shocking numbers are down to the dreadful, shameful waits in CAMHS that mean children are either not being referred until they become extremely unwell, or have to wait unacceptable lengths of time and then reach crisis point before being referred as an emergency. We are in a situation where the threshold for referrals to CAMHS is so high that only the most desperately ill children are seen.

A few years ago, while working in A&E, I tried to refer a 15-year-old girl to a CAMHS team. This poor teenager, who was living in a children’s home, was being abused by a group of men. She coped by cutting herself and frequently came to hospital as it was one of the only places she felt safe.

I’d already tried to refer her to social services but was told that, because she was nearly at the age of consent, there were no resources to pursue the issue.

Over the months she frequently attended in clear distress, having self-harmed. I explained that there appeared to be an escalation with her self-harming. To me, it seemed obvious an intervention would not only help but could avert disaster. Yet they rejected the referral on the basis that she hadn’t tried to kill herself yet.

‘If she does make an attempt, then do call back’ was the astonishingly callous instruction before they hung up. I stood looking at this vulnerable, scared girl, totally alone in the world and despaired. She had no parents involved in her care and mental health services were essentially telling her to go away and try to kill herself if she wanted help. What on earth has happened that, as a wealthy, developed nation, help was not available?

Since then, I’ve witnessed similar cases many times – a person has to be in an absolute crisis before CAMHS are able to help.

It’s important to point out that this is not the fault of CAMHS – these services are chronically underfunded and understaffed, with demand far outstripping what they can supply. In 2017, the NSPCC warned that CAMHS turned away 150 referrals every day because they were so overstretched. It’s an absolute scandal. Is it little wonder that parents and grandparents who want to get help for their increasingly desperate families are paying for them to be seen privately? If you are worried about a loved one, and if you can afford to do so, then this is, indeed, what I would advise.

But what about the likes of the self-harming teenager for whom that wasn’t an option? How can we allow this to continue?

The NHS is under tremendous strain, with numerous calls on its budget and resources. But, can no one in charge see that not only are we condemning our children to potential long-term problems by not intervening sooner, but, ultimately, the consequences of inaction stretch far into adulthood and this mental health emergency will end up costing far more to treat.