Children’s mental health in crisis - we're responding locally

The national picture: care in crisis

The Children’s Society say that 1 in 6 children are likely to have a mental health condition and that “children's wellbeing is at a ten year low”. Yet research reveals that a quarter of a million children have been denied help with mental health problems, despite being referred to specialist services by GPs. Spending per child varies dramatically between different parts of the country, and waiting times vary from 10 days to three years.

In the worst cases, care is only available for the most desperate children. Former Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield reports hearing multiple stories of children who have not been offered support after a suicide attempt because help is only available for those who have made multiple attempts.

Healthwatch Sutton has helped win more funding in the past

We know that access to mental health support for children and young people is an issue in Sutton, and has been for some years.

In 2018 we carried out a survey of over 5,000 young people aged 11 to 18. We found that more than one in 10 had suicidal thoughts in the last month, and more than 1 in 20 had self-harmed in the previous month, while 1 in 4 had issues about body image. We found that women, people from some ethnic minorities, lesbian, gay or bi people and disabled people had worse wellbeing than others.

Our survey played a key part in winning an extra £1.8 million to support the mental health of local young people.

We're surveying local children – our survey results will show the need for more resources

Just before the Covid pandemic, we surveyed the mental wellbeing of local primary school children. Now we’re repeating that survey – by Easter, we had gathered data from over 1,000 children. Our staff are hearing from primary school teachers that the mental health of their pupils has got worse, and if our survey provides evidence of that, it will help make the case for more investment in support services in Sutton.