We have just reached a landmark moment in children’s mental health.
Amidst the high-octane domestic and international affairs dominating the news agenda, a new but largely overlooked report shows that a record high number of young people are getting the right care for their mental disorder, as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.
An extra 53,000 children, teenagers and young adults were supported by NHS funded care last year, an increase of 14% on the year before. This number represents not only tens of thousands more families who are having the weight of mental ill health released from their shoulders, but a clear confirmation that the health service is turning the tide on young people’s wellbeing.
No issue could be more fundamental to our society than giving children the best start in life but, for generations, not enough attention has been paid to a child’s state of mind, their emotional wellbeing, or their mental resilience. In failing to acknowledge and respond to this problem, society has not only contributed to significant unmet demand in our young people, but also allowed millions to grow up with conditions that persist into adulthood. It is only recently that our country has put mental health - and children’s wellbeing in particular - where it belongs: at the top of our collective to-do list.
The NHS has rightly been at the forefront of that shift. Supported by our partners in the voluntary sector and in local communities, there has been significant investment into treatment, early intervention, and innovation in care. Five years ago, only one in four young people in need was accessing the right care; today it’s more than one in three, and recent data showed a three-year increase of 23% in staff working in children and young people’s mental health services, with after-hours support available throughout 90% of the country.
Although these numbers show the NHS is delivering on its stated commitments, we have long been clear that one in three is not enough. As a mental health nurse and a mum of two adult children, I know that getting help at the right time is life-changing - not just for young people but also for their families who no longer have to live with the anxiety and practical stresses that accompany conditions like eating disorders, depression and psychosis. While this is a moment to acknowledge significant progress, we must also respect the distance we still have to travel, and through our Long Term Plan we are committed to providing specialist care for every child - and family - that needs it.
Extra funding worth more than £2 billion will go into mental health services every year, with investment in children and young people’s mental health services growing faster than both the overall health service budget and total mental health spending, allowing our heroic NHS workforce to help an extra 345,000 children and young people each year. We’re also expanding to provide care to an additional 54,000 new parents whose earliest days with their child can be marred by perinatal mental ill health which impacts both the mum and her child. Furthermore, within the next few years all children will benefit from 24/7 crisis care close to home, and more than 100 Mental Health Support Teams across England will be able to offer targeted care in their own community.
We’re doing this against the most challenging backdrop. As public service budgets have continued to strain, intense pressure on young people’s wellbeing has risen, from a host of new and emerging sources like the daily bombardment of body shaming on social media. Harmful content online can warp minds, and parents are increasingly and understandably unsure about how to help their children navigate the complexity of growing up in 2019. These pressures are reflected in the fact that referrals for NHS care have gone up by more than two-thirds in the past five years, with a 15% rise in the past year alone.
All this serves to show that - often under the radar of the daily news agenda - the NHS is saving and changing lives thanks to better mental health services. Contrary to some of the coverage, last month’s data show that we are delivering on our promises to families - not only meeting and exceeding the ambitious but realistic targets we’ve set ourselves but, in doing so, giving tens of thousands of children the chance of making the most of their potential and living the healthiest and happiest life possible.
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Guest Post: “A landmark moment in children’s mental health”
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MumsnetGuestPosts · 15/08/2019 14:34
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