More than one million children in England were referred to NHS mental health services last year and tens of thousands were left waiting more than two years for support.
A new report by the Children’s Commissioner found 1,048,965 children had an active referral to Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) in 2024-25 – almost double the number recorded six years ago and nearly 10% higher than the previous year.
The NHS is trying to help more young people than ever before, but it is struggling to keep pace. By the end of March, more than one in three children were waiting to begin treatment and over 600,000 had been waiting for over two years.
The biggest rise was among children seeking help for suspected autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions. Anxiety remained the most common reason for accessing mental health care.
Children with suspected autism faced some of the longest waits – the number of children looking for help increased by almost 50% in a year, but only 13% had started treatment by the end of March.
Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, said these figures ‘clearly demonstrate the sheer scale of distress young people are facing today.’
‘These are not just numbers, but children whose lives have been put on hold for months, and in some cases, years waiting for support they urgently need,’ she continued.
‘While there have been some encouraging signs, with more children receiving support last year, it is hard to ignore the colossal challenge facing mental health services, as demand outpaces system capacity and funding.’
The report, the fifth annual assessment on children’s mental health services, found Black and Asian children were less likely to receive help. Those that did, arrived in crisis.
Younger children were also less likely than teenagers to receive treatment. Many waited longer, and some had their cases closed before getting any help.
Funding has failed to keep pace with rising demand. Spending on children’s mental health services rose by 2% in real terms to £1.1bn last year, compared with an almost 10% increase in the number of children entering the system.
Dame Souza added: ‘The way we look to support young people’s mental health must change – we cannot address mental health alone in isolation, improving children’s wellbeing requires action across government.
‘At the same time, there must be shift in how we approach children’s mental health with greater focus on joined up services across health, education and social care to ensure children are getting the help they need in schools and the community, only then will we stop asking what is wrong, but rather ‘how can we help?.
‘With the upcoming 10 Year Mental Health Strategy and reforms to the SEND system, we have a once in a generation opportunity to transform children’s mental health and improve outcomes for children.’
Commenting on the report’s findings, Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo’s, said: ‘The Children’s Commissioner report is a stark reminder that children and young people’s mental health is in crisis and should be treated as such.
‘While the government’s commitment to rolling out Mental Health Support Teams shows some progress, this is clearly not happening fast enough. The ongoing expansion of Mental Health Support Teams in England must be prioritised and must include school counsellors, to make sure that every child can access the compassionate and timely support they need before reaching crisis point.’
In similar vein, Mel Merritt, head of policy and campaigns at the National Autistic Society, urged the government to ‘stop ignoring this problem’.
‘The Children’s Commissioner’s report clearly shows autistic children and young people are being failed. They face unacceptable average waits of a year for a diagnosis and even after a diagnosis, autistic children wait twice as long as their peers for any support,’ Merritt said.
‘Urgent action is needed. The government needs to stop ignoring this problem. We support the Children’s Commissioner’s calls for improved joint working between services.’
Image: Gaby Fishman Fosbery/UnSplash
In related news:
Leave a Reply