Children still ‘waiting far too long’ for mental health care, commissioner warns

Children with mental health problems are still “waiting far too long for help”, the Children’s Commissioner for England has warned.

It comes as new analysis found hundreds of thousands of youngsters referred to mental health services in the year to March 2024 had been waiting for an average of six months for treatment to begin.

The most common reason for referral during the period was anxiety, with children referred for suspected ADHD or autism – which are not mental health problems – facing the longest waits.

In her fourth annual report on the state of children’s mental health services, Dame Rachel de Souza said: “Children are crying out for our help so they can get on with their lives, and we must listen.”

The analysis found more than 958,200 children in England had an active referral to Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services in the 12 months to March 2024.

This is an increase of 10,000 from the previous 12 months and the equivalent of 8% of the country’s population of 12 million children.

Of the total, 92% entered treatment within the year, with 45% accessing services within four weeks.

However, the report found some 320,000 children with active referrals were still waiting for treatment at the end of the year, up from 270,300 in 2022/23.

Dame Rachel wrote: “Every child has a right to a safe, healthy childhood – but this means not sitting on a list waiting for treatment.

“This report shows children who were yet to get support by the end of 2023/24 waited on average nearly six months for treatment to begin, with almost a third of these children waiting over a year.

“That’s years of brief and precious childhoods wasted. Months of lost learning, of social development, of wellbeing that can come with a heavy cost in every aspect of a child’s life.”

Some 76% of children entering treatment were over the age of 10.

Youngsters aged 13 to 15 were the largest group, with almost 300,000 referrals.

The most common reason for referral was anxiety (16%), followed by neurodevelopmental conditions excluding autism (11%), suspected autism (6.8%) and being in mental health crisis (6.2%).

The report said the number of children being referred for autism and ADHD jumped by almost 30%, with those patients facing some of the longest waits.

Dame Rachel said the numbers in the report are “staggering”, adding: “But these are not numbers, these are real children who not only missing precious moments of their childhood while stuck waiting for vital treatment for months, sometimes years, but also the scaffolding that makes their lives happy and fulfilled with their friends.

“All too often, it is these children with unmet additional needs who go missing from education, falling off the radars of services and denied opportunities their peers take for granted.

“Children tell me they want to be in school – we must match this ambition they have for themselves and take preventative steps so that fewer children miss school for mental health-related reasons.”

Dame Rachel acknowledged “some encouraging signs of progress” like increased investment in real terms and localised improvements in accessing services, but warned: “Even five days is a long time for a child in crisis to wait – so we must grasp this moment of transformation in the NHS with both hands to build a system that meets the needs of every child – early, fairly, and locally.”

The report calls for a “new vision for childhood” that does not “silo mental health away from education, care, or physical wellbeing”.

Dame Rachel added that upcoming health reforms “must include rethinking how the health profession communicates with children”.

“Too often, the conversation focuses on what a child with a particular condition – or even a suspected condition – cannot do, instead of what they can do,” she said.

“I want to see a consensus across every service working with children that they should never be labelled or diagnosed by professionals who are not clinicians – to do so without the appropriate support in place will only limit their ambition and ability.

“The future of our NHS must start with children. If we get this right, we don’t just reduce pressure on services – we give every child the best start in life.”

Olly Parker, head of external affairs and research at the charity YoungMinds, said: “Although investment in children and young people’s mental health services has increased, not enough is being spent on young people proportionally.

“The mental health support available is a postcode lottery, and many young people face long waits, often becoming more unwell before they can access help.

“The Government must focus on getting the waiting lists down and making sure young people get the support they need to live happy and fulfilled lives.”

A spokesperson for NHS England said: “The NHS is seeing record demand for mental health support, with a 60% increase in young people accessing our services compared to pre-pandemic.

“We know early years intervention is vital, with half of mental health disorders presenting by the age of 18. Our staff are working hard to care for more children and young people than ever before.

“We have significantly boosted the children and young people’s mental health workforce, as well as increased access to mental health support teams in schools so we can provide more support at an earlier stage.”