The number of children referred for specialist anxiety treatment has doubled in just four years, startling new figures show.
More than 200,000 children in England – or 4,000 each week – were waiting to start treatment last year.
This figure represents an increase of more than 100,000 compared to 2019/2020, when almost 99,000 people were stuck in the queue.
Experts, who described the figures as “shocking”, attributed the “astonishing” increase today to concerns about exams, the influence of social media and the cost of living crisis.
But they warned that the statistics may be just the tip of the iceberg, as other children suffer in silence under the radar.
More than 200,000 children in England – or 4,000 each week – were waiting to start treatment last year. This represents an increase of more than 100,000 compared to 2019/2020, when almost 99,000 were stuck in the queue.
A joint 2022 survey of 1,130 teachers by children’s mental health charity Place2Be and the National Association of Head Teachers also found a rise in mental and emotional health problems among pupils since the pandemic.
New figures from NHS England revealed there were 204,526 new referrals for patients aged 17 or under where the main cause was anxiety in 2023/24.
By comparison, in 2019-20, the year before COVID-19 hit, the figure was 98,953, while in 2016-17 it was 3,879.
The health service does not record the reasons for referrals for anxiety, but experts today cited a number of factors that explain the increase.
Andy Bell, chief executive of the charity Centre for Mental Health, said: The Guardian“These stark figures underline the urgency of addressing the mental health of children and young people today.
He added: ‘Our research indicates that academic pressures, particularly those related to exams, have intensified over the past decade.
‘Rising levels of poverty and inequality have also contributed to increased anxiety among children and young people, including factors such as financial stress within households and the impact of racism.
‘Evidence also suggests that online harms, such as cyberbullying and pressures about appearance, are relentless and can fuel anxiety in children.
‘The pandemic has amplified these pressures on children and young people by disrupting their routines and increasing feelings of isolation and uncertainty about the world and their future.’
Dr Elaine Lockhart, head of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ child and adolescent faculty, also said doctors had seen first-hand “a dramatic increase in the number of children and young people experiencing anxiety” in recent years.
Dozens of studies have also recently highlighted how the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns hampered children’s development.
Researchers have found that young people from all economic backgrounds have suffered setbacks in their emotional and social development.
Among the key policies introduced at the start of the pandemic were unprecedented stay-at-home orders, including school closures.
Ministers had little choice but to protect society once the virus reached the UK, after being warned that hundreds of thousands of people could die if immediate action was not taken.
Vaccines — considered the only sure route out of the pandemic — were still months away from being distributed.
Responding to the figures, Claire Murdoch, national director for mental health at NHS England, said mental health services were experiencing record demand as children faced “unprecedented pressures”.
Between April 2021 and October 2021, the number of children under 18 needing care for problems ranging from self-harm to eating disorders had increased by 77 per cent compared with the same period in 2019, according to NHS figures.
Last year, giving evidence to the COVID-19 Commission of Inquiry, former Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies said the full impact of lockdowns had not been taken into account. While she acknowledged she agreed with the lockdown in principle, the impact had “damaged a generation”, she said.
“The NHS is expanding its services to treat more children and young people than ever before, including deploying hundreds of mental health teams in schools,” he said.
Any parent or guardian concerned about their child’s mental health should explore the Every Mind Matters website for advice or seek help through their GP or local mental health service, she added.
The Department of Health and Social Care said it planned to provide specialist mental health support in every school and drop-in mental health centres in every community.
“It is unacceptable that so many children and young people are not receiving the care they deserve, and we know that waits for services are too long,” a spokesperson added.
“We are determined to change that.”
Studies have repeatedly suggested that students’ academic performance suffered, while the country also entered a recession due to the economic impact of Covid.
A major study published last year found that nearly half of parents said their children’s social and emotional skills worsened during the pandemic.
Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and the Institute of Education at University College London found that children seemed more worried and frightened, lost confidence more easily and were more likely to have tantrums after lockdowns.
A damning report by parent campaigners last year also revealed that ministers were warned in November 2020 that more children would die by suicide than from contracting Covid if schools closed.