An investigation carried out by the Royal College of Psychiatrists has revealed that a record-breaking number of young people were placed under the care of mental health services, highlighting the affects of the pandemic.
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The Royal College, who work to secure the best outcomes for people with mental illness, reviewed NHS digital data to find a 134% increase in under 18 year olds being referred to mental health services between June-April 2021.
The findings showed that the referrals of young people to mental health support services rose by 81,170 (134%) cases from the same time last year, and within that there were 8,552 children signposted as requiring urgent or emergency treatment.
The recent findings do not come as a surprise to Mental Health Advisor at MentalhealthUK, Sarah Golding, who believes a root cause for many cases could be due to the isolation caused by both lockdowns and virtual learning. She calls for more vigilance from teachers in education institutions, telling us:
"Unlike with face to face teaching, it is a lot harder spot signs of deterioration in mental health through a screen"
"I would urge teachers and parents alike to watch out for any indicators such as attention span, seeming distant, are they quieter than usual?"
"We need to work even more vigilantly than usual now in order to sign post these young people and get them the support that they need."
The Royal College themselves are also advocating for change, calling on the government to invest in support hubs to give easy access, drop-in mental health support for young people, where they can self-refer.
Douglas Shahwe, an 18 year old from Lincolnshire said:
"By the second lockdown, my health anxiety got so bad I thought I had a brain tumour...I think Covid had me constantly thinking about illness."
"Weeks went by and eventually my GP arranged a CT scan at the hospital, and I had been put under the umbrella of the local mental health services. They tried as best they could but unfortunately the soonest appointment was four months later."
"I was stuck inside for so long and I truly believe that did make everything worse for me"
If you, or anybody that you know are suffering a mental health crisis, you can find support by following any of the below links: