Waiting for Help: The Crisis in Young People's Mental Health Services

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people has rightly risen up the public agenda in recent years. Yet at the very moment when more young people are seeking help, the services designed to support them are struggling to keep pace, leaving many waiting far too long for the care they need.

Rising Demand.

The demand for children and young people's mental health support has grown sharply. Referrals to specialist services have risen substantially, and a large and growing number of young people are waiting to be seen.

Recent figures show that hundreds of thousands of children and young people were still waiting for a first contact from community mental health services, a number that has risen significantly over the past year. Behind each of these figures is a young person, and a family, waiting and hoping for support.

The Problem of Thresholds.

One of the difficulties many families encounter is the question of thresholds. Specialist services are intended for those with moderate to severe difficulties, and some young people referred for help are told they do not meet the threshold for support, even when those around them feel they urgently need it.

Teachers and others who work with young people often describe the frustration of seeing a child who needs specialist help being turned away as not quite reaching the threshold. This can leave families caught in a gap, too unwell for one service but unable to access another.

The North East Picture.

These pressures are felt across the North East as much as anywhere. Services in the region have acknowledged that young people referred for specialist assessment may face long waits, and that this reflects rising numbers of referrals being experienced across the region and the country.

For families in the region, a long wait for assessment and treatment can be an anxious and difficult time. The strain on services means that, despite the best efforts of dedicated staff, too many young people are left waiting for the help they need.

The Wider Pressures.

Part of the rising demand relates to growing numbers of young people being referred for assessment of conditions such as autism and attention difficulties, which are often diagnosed and supported within mental health services. Waiting lists for these assessments have been growing, and there is a lack of clear national data on how long young people wait.

This adds to the pressure on services already struggling to meet demand for support with emotional and mental health difficulties. The result is a system stretched in several directions at once, with rising need outpacing the available capacity.

Why Early Support Matters.

There is broad agreement that supporting young people early, before difficulties escalate, is both better for the young person and more effective for the system as a whole. When help is available at an early stage, through schools, community services and online support, problems can sometimes be addressed before they become severe.

This is why there is so much emphasis on clearer routes into specialist services, better signposting to community and school-based support, and joined-up working between different services. Catching difficulties early, and ensuring no young person falls through the gaps, is central to a better system.

The Case for Investment.

Addressing the crisis will require sustained investment and reform, to expand capacity, recruit and retain staff, and build the early support that can prevent difficulties from escalating. There have been calls for greater transparency about how funding for young people's mental health is determined and spent.

The case for getting this right is compelling, both for the wellbeing of young people and for the long-term health of society. Supporting young people's mental health is an investment in their futures and in the communities they will help to build.

A Generation's Wellbeing.

The pressures on children and young people's mental health services represent a serious challenge, leaving too many young people across the North East waiting too long for support at a vulnerable time in their lives. Rising demand, difficult thresholds and stretched capacity have combined to create a system under real strain.

Meeting the challenge will require investment, reform and a determined focus on early support, so that young people can get help when they need it. The wellbeing of the next generation depends on getting this right.

This is a sensitive subject, and anyone worried about a young person's mental health can find support through their GP, school or trusted local and national services, who are there to help.

The Role of Schools and Communities.

While specialist services are essential for those with serious difficulties, much of the support that helps young people stay well happens long before that point, in schools, families and communities, and strengthening this wider web of support is central to easing the pressure on specialist services. Schools in particular have become a crucial setting for supporting young people's wellbeing, often being the first to notice when a young person is struggling and providing pastoral care, counselling and a trusted adult to turn to.

Investing in this kind of early, accessible support, in schools and in the community, can help many young people before their difficulties become severe enough to need specialist help, which is better for the young person and relieves pressure on stretched specialist services. Community organisations, youth groups and online support services also have an important role to play, offering young people places to turn that are less clinical and more accessible than formal mental health services.

Building a strong network of early support, well connected to specialist services so that young people can be referred on when they need more, is widely seen as a key part of the answer. This requires the different parts of the system, schools, community services, primary care and specialist services, to work together, with clear routes between them so that no young person falls through the gaps.

It also requires that the value of early, preventive support is properly recognised and funded, rather than all the attention and resources going to crisis care at the most serious end. A system that supports young people early and in the settings where they spend their lives, while ensuring that specialist help is there for those who need it, would serve young people far better than one that leaves them waiting until they reach crisis point.

Building that system is one of the most important things that can be done for the wellbeing of young people across the region.

We want to hear from you.

Demand for young people's mental health support is rising faster than services can keep pace, leaving many waiting too long.

Do you think young people are getting the mental health support they need?