Mental health support demand for kids surges in Berkshire

This is the highest number of referrals in the last five years.

The trust also recorded the longest waiting time for a first appointment this year (between April 2023 and April 2024), was 89 weeks.

CAHMS referrals for Berkshire (Image: Berkshire NHS Trust)

The data was obtained by Medical Negligence Assist through Freedom of Information requests to all NHS Mental Health Trusts.

The figures show a 31 per cent increase in referrals since 2019, when 4,473 children were referred.

The most common reasons for referral were anxiety, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and depression.

Referrals for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) increased by 59 per cent over the past five years, from 74 in 2019/2020 to 118 in 2023/24.

CAHMS referrals for Berkshire (Image: Berkshire NHS Trust)

The biggest increase was in anxiety referrals, which rose by 74 per cent from 1,258 in 2019/20 to 2,193 in the last year.

Eating disorder referrals also rose by 43 per cent, from 193 in 2019/20 to 276 this year.

Earlier this year, Sean Duggen, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network, said: "The numbers with a probable mental disorder have increased markedly since 2017, as have contacts with NHS mental health services with the unfortunate knock-on impact that too many are waiting months if not years to access support.

"While services are seeing far more children and young people, the increase in prevalence, demand, complexity and severity of need means that services are often struggling to meet that demand."

This year, 3,723 children received mental health treatment at Berkshire Healthcare Trust, which is 63 per cent of those referred.

This is well above the national average of 32 per cent.

The average waiting time from referral to first appointment was seven weeks, an improvement on the national average of five weeks.

A spokesperson for the trust explained that: "The length of wait is affected by several factors including incorrect coding of appointments, patient choice and a referral held open to a service pending completion of an intervention in a different mental health service."

Andy Bell, the chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health charity, said: "Our research indicates that academic pressures, particularly those related to exams, have intensified in the last 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."

The rise in children’s mental health referrals, particularly for anxiety and depression, has been attributed to numerous factors including social media, the effects of the Covid pandemic, and the cost of living crisis.