Young bearing brunt of Covid crisis as mental health referrals soar
Head of Royal College of Psychiatrists warns that demand for services reaching breaking point, with real risk they will be overrun
9 April 2021 • 6:00am
School closures and disrupted friendships have had a devastating effect, the Royal College of Psychiatrists said
Credit: Owen Humphreys/PA
Mental health referrals for children and young people rose by more than a quarter during the pandemic, new figures show, with experts warning that the young are bearing the brunt of the Covid crisis.
Research by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found there were 80,226 more children and young people referred for help between April and December – up 28 per cent on the previous year. Meanwhile, 600,628 extra treatment sessions were given – a rise of 20 per cent. This compares to a rise of eight per cent in treatments for adults.
Friday April 9, 2021, 7:43 AM
A group of MPs is calling for the use of Body Mass Index (BMI) in determining if an individual’s weight is healthy to be scrapped - branding the government s obesity strategy dangerous .
The Women and Equalities Committee warned the impact of the pandemic, both on eating disorder sufferers and those at a high risk of developing one, has been “devastating”.
Earlier this month, ITV News told the story of eight-year-old Heidi. She has an eating disorder and her mum says the Covid pandemic has made her daughter’s situation “a million times worse”.
Heidi s eating disorder makes her so exhausted, she often struggles to concentrate. This means she only goes to school for half a day
Children ‘bearing brunt’ of mental health crisis
The number of children seeking help for mental health problems increased by 28% during the pandemic, new figures have revealed.
Analysis of NHS Digital data by the Royal College of Psychiatrists shows that children have been most affected by the ‘mental health crisis’.
The data shows 80,226 more children and young people were referred to CYP mental health services between April and December last year, up by 28% on 2019.
More than 18,000 children and young people needed urgent or emergency crisis care during this time, an increase of 18% on 2019.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling for the additional £500m promised for mental health to urgently reach the frontline to tackle the crisis.
Last modified on Fri 9 Apr 2021 01.44 EDT
Top story: âUntold human sufferingâ must be addressed
Hello, Fridayâs here at last, and so am I, Warren Murray. Letâs boot up your day.
The number of people suffering with long Covid should be published routinely, MPs and peers are urging Boris Johnson. Thirty-two cross-party MPs and 33 peers have signed a letter as they urge the PM to ensure the âuntold human sufferingâ the condition involves helps steer the governmentâs pandemic response. The Office for National Statistics has found an estimated 1.1m people are suffering long-lasting symptoms after having Covid-19.
Separately â England is âin the grip of a mental health crisisâ because of the pandemic, with under-18s suffering the most, psychiatrists are to warn today. Bernadka Dubicka from the Royal College of Psychiatrists cited the âdevastating effectâ of school closures, disrupted friendships and uncertainty. Adult mental h
BMI and calories on menus should be SCRAPPED as obesity crackdown branded dangerous, say MPs
9 Apr 2021, 11:03
Updated: 9 Apr 2021, 11:05
USING BMI (Body Mass Index) and displaying the calorie count on menus should be scrapped as MPs brand the measures “dangerous”.
Experts have claimed the the government’s strategy to tackle obesity in the UK could trigger eating disorders in the people it’s designed to help.
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Experts have said that the use of BMI should scrapped and have branded it a dangerous moveCredit: Getty
Doctors and health professionals use BMI to calculate where a person falls in a weight range and this can determine whether you are underweight, overweight or obese.