Mental ill health in children ‘biggest challenge of our time’ – report

A new report from mental health charities states that rates of emotional distress among young people have “risen sharply in recent years”.

The report says that the UK “lags behind” comparable countries on measures such as life satisfaction among young people.

And it is a “notable outlier” in rises in both mental health needs and the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet).

It highlights how the mental health of children and young people is under “unprecedented strain”, with rates of diagnosable mental illness rising sharply in recent years.

But mental health services are “struggling to keep pace and meet the individual needs of children and young people”, the authors wrote.

“Many face long waits or are turned away from specialist care, while early support is often unavailable or insufficient,” they add.

The authors say that thousands go without timely support, while many others receive care that “fail to address the drivers of their poor mental health”.

The new report from Future Minds – led by the Centre for Mental Health, Centre for Young Lives, the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition and YoungMinds, with support from the Prudence Trust – has set out a “road-map” to help the Government “turn the tide” for young people.

It highlights how the Government’s three shifts for health reform – from hospital to community; from analogue to digital and from sickness to prevention – have “critical applicability in youth mental health”.

This includes: using digital tools and AI to widen access to care and reduce waiting times; adopting an approach which embeds wellbeing support in schools, youth services and families; and stabilising inpatient and specialist services while investing toward earlier community-based care.

The report was released alongside the results from a Mumsnet survey of 1,009 users of the website which found that 77% are concerned about their child’s mental health, with 29% saying they are “very concerned”.

The most common mental health issue parents reported among their children was anxiety; followed by self-esteem or confidence issues; stress related to school or exams; behavioural issues and depression or low mood.

Andy Bell, chief executive of Centre for Mental Health, said: “The mental health of children and young people is under unprecedented strain.

“It is disrupting education, limiting future employment, driving up public service costs, and threatening the UK’s long-term prosperity.

“Too little is done to prevent mental health problems in childhood.

“Too many children face long waits or are turned away from specialist care, while early support is often patchy or unavailable.

“Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting now have a historic opportunity to reverse this crisis. Transforming children’s mental health must sit at the heart of the Government’s moral mission to change the course for this generation.”

Connie Muttock, head of policy at the Centre for Young Lives, added: “The UK is the European leader of youth unhappiness, with poor mental health in childhood reaching unprecedented heights, the consequences of which will ripple through generations to come.

“Parents and children are crying out for help and to find services and the Government is not yet doing enough to reform the system.

“This road-map gives them the solutions needed to turn the tide on this growing crisis.”

Justine Roberts, founder and executive chair of Mumsnet, said: “Parents are doing everything possible to support their children, often at significant personal cost, but they are battling a failing system.

“It is vital that the Government acts to reform children’s mental health provision and provide the support that families urgently need.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “No parent should be worrying about their child’s mental health, which is why we have already helped nearly 40,000 more young people access support.

“We are investing an extra £688 million in mental health services this year, we’ve hired 7,000 additional mental health workers, as well as accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges.

“We are also opening 50 Young Futures hubs over the next four years, bringing together services to improve mental health and wellbeing.”