Quarter of a Million Children Receiving Mental Health Care in England
Data covering 60% of mental health trusts shows 11,849 boys and girls aged five and under among those getting help
By Denis Campbell and Sarah Marsh
This article has been re-shared from it’s original source, TheGuardian.com
Almost a quarter of a million children and young people are receiving help fromNHS mental health services for problems such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders, figures show.
The scale of the growing crisis in young people’s mental wellbeing is laid bare with the disclosure that 235,189 people aged 18 and under get specialist care, according to data covering 60% of mental health trusts in England.
Sarah Brennan, the chief executive of the mental health charity Young Minds, said: “It’s staggering that so many children and young people are in need of specialist mental health care. These figures should act as a wake-up call.”
The Guardian reveals the figures for the first time at the start of a two-day series prompted by rapidly accumulating evidence that growing numbers of children, teenagers and young adults are being afflicted by debilitating psychological and psychiatric ailments.
Among the 235,189 young people who were in contact with mental health services in June were 11,849 boys and girls aged five and under, and 53,659 aged between six and 10. Just over 100,000 patients were 11 to 15, and 69,505 were 16 to 18.
Contrary to some experts’ expectations, the total comprised more boys (130,395) than girls (104,522).
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