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‘I wasn’t deemed sick enough’: The crisis in children’s mental health services | UK News

Mia was just 10 years old when she and her family knew she needed mental health support. 

But their attempts to access help were met with delays and denials that lead to such a severe deterioration in her condition it nearly cost Mia her life.

“I wasn’t deemed sick enough, I was told it was fine and there was nothing wrong with me”, Mia explains. “I was telling them, ‘this is not normal’, and they didn’t listen.”

But Mia was struggling. Her mental health was worsening and would eventually reach crisis point.

“By the time I was 12 I was self-harming. I felt like some days I couldn’t cope with the day but I was still performing well academically and that, when you’re a kid in this country, that is how they mark your wellbeing.”

It was when Mia turned 15 that help eventually came but only after she suffered a breakdown. She was arrested for false imprisonment and criminal damage after an attack on her teacher, and eventually admitted to a psychiatric unit.

Mia believes earlier intervention would have prevented her deterioration into crisis.

Mia
Image:
Mia

“I would have killed myself. I would have. Mental health care is lifesaving, just as lifesaving as cardiac care, just as lifesaving as diabetes care. You cannot live a healthy, happy life if you are mentally unwell, without support.”

Mia’s story about her struggle to access the right mental health care at the right time exposes a system in crisis. Children and young adults across the country are being forced to endure long waits for specialist care and demand continues to grow.

NHS England estimates a quarter of all 17 to 19-year-olds now have a probable mental health disorder compared to one in 10 just six years ago.

David Barker and his team at Youth Talk offer free confidential counselling for 13 to 25-year-olds.

But they are overrun with record numbers of children and young people in need of help.

The charity has doubled its capacity – but even this is not enough.

Mr Barker told Sky News: “Before the pandemic there was a crisis of young people struggling with their mental health, the pandemic has compounded all of that, hugely, and as a result of that we’re seeing a long tail of the COVID pandemic in terms of mental health and particularly young people.”

Community health services are also struggling. A survey of NHS Providers found that children are now waiting an average of 91 weeks for an autism spectrum disorder assessment and between 72 and 207 weeks for an ADHD assessment.

Read more:
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Jenna Hughes speaks to Sky News
Image:
Jenna Hughes speaks to Sky News

Jenna Hughes had to wait three years for a diagnosis for her eldest child Amelia.

Her youngest, Imogen, has already been waiting for a year. Caring for Amelia and Imogen without any extra help is having an impact on everyone in the family.

“I’ve struggled with my mental health,” Jenna says. “Because of the level of care my children need. That’s hard on my family. The NHS is overrun but it puts so much pressure on families, and strain and stress.”

Demand is only expected to increase.

And if there is no urgent action, healthcare providers like the Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust predict that by next year their community waiting lists for children and young people will have more than doubled since the pandemic.

Its chief executive Elliot Howard-Jones said the biggest challenge for his trust in responding to the growing crisis was finding the right staff.

“It’s absolutely not where we want to be, we want to have much shorter waiting times for children, it significantly affects their life chances and their educational attainment if we don’t see them quickly.

“The biggest challenge in terms of community services is not the vision for what we want to do which is clearly to support people at home and to help children develop as best as they can, it’s getting the staff and growing the service quickly enough to be able to respond.”

Mia is 21 now. She is in the final year of a wild animal biology degree at the Royal Veterinary College after passing her A levels with top grades.

But the outcome could have been very different and for the many thousands of children still struggling it will be unless the crisis in children’s mental health is addressed urgently.

Record NHS staff sickness levels in England with mental health biggest issue | UK News

Mental health issues account for almost a quarter of all NHS staff absences in England, with a stark rise in staff taking sick days for anxiety, stress, and burnout since the onset of COVID-19.

The absence rate during 2022 shows the NHS lost some 27 million sick days to absence. This is the equivalent of nearly 75,000 full-time staff and includes some 20,400 nurses and 2,900 doctors.

The figure, analysed by the Nuffield Trust from NHS data for the BBC, is a rise of 29% on 2019 – the last full year before COVID hit.

Mental health issues were the top single issue, with colds, coughs, respiratory problems, and the return of flu, accounting for further big rises.

In total across 2022, some six million working days were lost in total to mental health and wellbeing reasons.

The research also found the level of sickness absence is not equal around the country. By the end of 2022, the reported sickness rate in the North West stood at 7.4%, above the national average for hospital and community services, while London was 5.4%.

True absence levels likely to be higher

The trust’s senior fellow Dr Billy Palmer said: “The health service is grappling with a difficult new normal when it comes to staff sickness leave.”

He said while there has been a lot of focus on recruitment, more needed to be done to improve the working conditions of existing staff.

Read more:
Why are so many staff leaving the health service?
NHS consultants vote to strike for two days next month

‘The worst hospital I have ever seen’

“The workforce plan needs to have concrete support to enable employers to improve NHS staff experience if the service is to break this cycle of staff absences, sickness and leaving rates,” he said.

As not every absence would have been recorded, the trust said the figures were likely to be lower than the true numbers.

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The analysis comes days after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hailed his NHS Long Term Workforce Plan which he called the “largest expansion in training and workforce”.

The government is set to publish the long-awaited NHS workforce plan later this week to address the long-term woes in the health service.

Metropolitan Police to stop attending 999 calls linked to mental health incidents | UK News

The Metropolitan Police will no longer attend 999 calls linked to mental health incidents from September.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has told health and social care services that officers won’t be sent unless there’s a threat to life.

The move was first reported in the Guardian and confirmed to Sky News by a government source.

It’s intended to allow police to focus on crime and its victims rather than dealing with people who need expert medical help.

“Where there is an immediate threat to life, officers will continue to respond,” the Met Police told The Guardian.

“In the interests of patients and the public, we urgently need to redress the imbalance of responsibility, where police officers are left delivering health responsibilities.

“Health services must take primacy for caring for the mentally ill, allowing officers to focus on their core responsibilities to prevent and detect crime, and keep communities safe and support victims.”

However, Mind, a mental health charity, expressed concern at the move, with its chief Sarah Hughes telling the BBC’s Today programme: “I am not persuaded we have got enough in the system to tolerate a shift to this new approach. I think we’ve got a huge way to go before the system is working together on behalf of very distressed individuals.

“We’re not in a position to say it’s either the police or somebody else. It’s often a complicated question that has a raft of answers. We are not ready, we are not in a fit for purpose state, to go straight to this policy.

A Met spokesperson told the BBC that officers spent an average of 10 hours with a patient when they are sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

“In London alone, between 500-600 times a month, officers are waiting for this length of time to hand over to patients, and it cannot continue,” said a statement.

“Police are compassionate and highly skilled but they are not trained to deliver mental health care.”

A Metropolitan Police officer

Humberside brought in a similar policy – known as Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) – in 2020 that involves staff from the charity Mind dealing with calls in the police control room.

It saved 1,100 police hours per month and people received “more timely care from the most appropriate care provider”, according to a November report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services.

Read more:
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‘We are failing patients’

RCRP is designed to be implemented nationally, but the Met commissioner is believed to have lost patience.

In his letter to health and social care services, seen by The Guardian, he writes: “I have asked my team that the Met introduce RCRP this summer and withdraw from health-related calls by no later than August 31.

“It is important to stress the urgency of implementing RCRP in London.

“Every day that we permit the status quo to remain, we are collectively failing patients and are not setting up officers to succeed.”

He continued: “We are failing Londoners twice.

“We are failing them first by sending police officers, not medical professionals, to those in mental health crisis, and expecting them to do their best in circumstances where they are not the right people to be dealing with the patient.

“We are failing Londoners a second time by taking large amounts of officer time away from preventing and solving crime, as well as dealing properly with victims, in order to fill gaps for others.

“The extent to which we are collectively failing Londoners and inappropriately placing demand on policing is very stark.”

He added the Met had received a record number of 999 calls on 28-29 April but only 30% were “crime related”.

People on mental health waiting lists cautioned not to turn to chatbots | Science & Tech News

People waiting months for mental health treatment have been cautioned against turning to chatbots as a quick alternative.

One in four patients are now waiting more than 90 days between their first and second appointments for NHS talking therapy treatment, according to analysis by charity Future Care Capital (FCC).

The free sessions, delivered by fully trained and accredited practitioners, are meant to support those who suffer from conditions like anxiety and depression.

But thousands of people are facing long delays, with demand for treatment having risen since the pandemic.

A recent survey by the FCC found 87% of people struggling with their mental health were now using apps to get help, with 31% leaning on such tools because they did not want to wait for face-to-face support.

Dr Lauren Evans, director of research and innovation at FCC, said such resources had a role to play but cautioned against the use of increasingly popular chatbots, which have been tipped as an alternative to search engines.

“Although chatbots have been used for a while to direct telephone enquiries or provide basic information, it is an entirely different endeavour to gauge not only what somebody is saying, but the way they are saying it and what that might entail,” she told Sky News.

Digital tools ‘must be tested to high standards’

Since the pandemic, Google has reported an increase in the number of searches related to mental health, notably depression and anxiety.

People are also turning to social media to find support. Research by Luna, an app designed to help teenagers with mental health struggles, suggests more than eight in 10 young people are using TikTok to diagnose their troubles.

According to the FCC’s survey, people are now more than twice as likely to find a digital mental health tool on social media than through their GP.

Chatbots specifically released to be digital therapists have also grown in popularity in recent years – examples include Woebot and Wysa, which are both highly rated on Apple and Google’s app stores.

But new language models like the successful ChatGPT from OpenAI are not designed for this purpose. Despite this, asking questions about mental health will still see it confidently deliver an answer – even if it’s wrong.

Dr Evans warned: “Any such technology needs to be subjected to rigorous testing with high standards – and it could prove to be revolutionary.

“But it should not be implemented in place of face-to-face treatment with a medical professional.”

Read more:
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Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Will this chatbot replace humans?

‘People want the human touch’

UK charity Samaritans, which operates a free 24/7 helpline for people who are struggling, has also stressed the importance of human interaction when seeking mental health support.

Kay, a volunteer who signed up after receiving help during her own struggle with anxiety, told Sky News: “I don’t think chatbots would be entirely helpful, because you just don’t know what call you’re going to take.

“When people talk, they want the human touch, to feel they’re talking to a real person who can empathise.”

Read more:
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Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Patients of mental health units tell their story

Guide to digital mental health resources

In a bid to ensure those who do seek help online find an appropriate resource, the FCC has launched a new comprehensive guide that directs people towards trusted apps and platforms.

The digital mental health tools guide allows users to filter resource based on conditions like addiction, anxiety, stress, body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and self-esteem.

“Digital tools are not a substitute for in-person mental health treatment,” Dr Evans stressed, “but can be used in conjunction with professional support and may help people waiting between treatment sessions.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

Two serious offenders escape from mental health facility in Northamptonshire | UK News

Police are searching for two men who have escaped from a mental health facility in Northampton.

Nicholas Courtney is a 43-year-old convicted sex offender who is serving a hospital order.

He left the grounds of St Andrew’s Healthcare in Billing Road at about 6pm on Saturday 31 December while on an escorted walk with members of staff.

He is white, 5ft 8, slim, with a bald shaven head and distinctive tattoos on his neck.

When he was last seen, he was wearing black trainers, blue jeans, a black jacket with a red stripe across the chest and a waterproof jacket on top.

The other escapee is Johnny Brady, a 19-year-old who is also serving a hospital order but for a serious assault in Derby.

He escaped the hospital at about 3.30pm on Saturday 31 December, although his escape is not thought to have been related to Courtney’s.

Brady is white, 5ft 9 and slim. He was last seen wearing black Adidas tracksuit bottoms, a black hoodie, and black trainers.

A Northamptonshire Police spokesperson said: “We would like to appeal directly to Johnny to reassure him that he is not in trouble but to please return to St Andrew’s or make yourself known to the police.

“We need to make sure you are safe and receive the care that you need.”

Northamptonshire Police said members of the public should not approach the men under any circumstances but should instead phone police to report sightings.

The force control room can be contacted on 999, and people can quote incident number 359 of 31/12/22 for a sighting of Courtney and 275 of 31/12/22 for Brady.

Mental health epidemic is shrinking UK workforce and fuelling staff shortages | Business News

Britain is in the grip of a mental health crisis that is causing workers to drop out of the labour market and fuelling staff shortages.

The number of people neither working nor seeking work has ballooned since the pandemic to almost nine million.

Figures analysed by Sky News show that this is being driven by long-term sickness and, in particular, mental health conditions.

Levels of economic inactivity among the long-term sick jumped by 537,500 between the year to June 2019 and the year to June 2022.

Some 454,300 can be attributed to mental health conditions, such as depression, stress and anxiety orders. The figures relate to those aged 16 and over.

Plummeting participation rates pose challenges for businesses. Although the number of job vacancies is falling after a post-lockdown jobs boom, they remain near record levels.

This means employers have fewer workers to choose from when filling roles and limits the economy’s potential to grow.

The figures also suggest that employers could better support the workers they do have. The number of employed people with long-term mental health conditions jumped by 816,400 over the same period.

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Those off work due to mental health conditions jumped by 454,300

A recent report by the professional services firm Deloitte found that the annual costs to UK employers of poor mental health have increased by 25% since the start of the pandemic. This can be measured in levels of absenteeism, productivity and turnover.

Policymakers are alert to the problem.

Rise in economic inactivity will ‘hold UK growth back’

Jonathan Haskel, a member of the Bank of England’s rate-setting committee, warned last month: “In most countries in the developed world, the economic inactivity rate, that is the proportion of people neither working nor actively searching for jobs… increased during the pandemic, but then fell back.

“But the UK is different….This rise in economic inactivity will hold UK growth back.”

Growth will be key for the government as it seeks to fill a gaping hole in public finances. If more people are out of work it means smaller tax receipts for the Treasury and higher levels of spending on unemployment benefits.

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The number of employed people with long-term mental health conditions rose by 816,400

Britain’s disability benefits bill has already reached £14.7 billion. Four-fifths of the rise in the number of disability benefits recipients over the past two decades has been driven by psychiatric conditions, such as mental health problems and learning disabilities.

Uptick in disability benefits ‘driven by mental health conditions’

Tom Waters, an economist at the Institute of Fiscal Studies, said: “If those trends continue, that’s going to continue to put pressure on that expense, particularly at a time when the government is struggling to fill the deficit.

“When we look over the last couple of decades, there’s been a really big uptick in (the number of people) on disability benefits. That’s been almost entirely driven by mental health conditions. So we’re looking at something on the order of about a million people now claiming disability benefits for mental health. That makes up almost half of everyone who gets disability benefits. If we look back to the early 2000s, it was only about a quarter or so.”

At 3.5%, Britain’s unemployment rate is at a record low, but it belies worrying long-term trends that have been made worse by the pandemic.

A mental health epidemic is driving an increase in economic inactivity among the long-term sick. These people are not looking for work so they do not show up in the unemployment figures but the longer they remain out of work, the harder it will be for them to return.

A smaller workforce means there are fewer people to produce the goods and services that help the economy to grow.

It also increases competition for workers, bidding up wages at a time when inflation is running rampant.

The Bank of England has already asked workers to show “restraint” when asking for pay rises but, with competition rife, employers may have no choice but to fork out for workers.

Tyson Fury releasing Sweet Caroline single for mental health charity | UK News

Tyson Fury is releasing a version of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline for a mental health charity.

His fans often belt out the song before his fights and the world heavyweight champion is well known for singing classics such as American Pie and Walking in Memphis in the ring.

The boxer has now been in the studio and the track will be released on 11 November, three weeks before his bout against fellow Briton Derek Chisora in London.

All proceeds will go to Talk Club, a men’s mental health charity that offers talking groups, sports groups and other therapy.

The 34-year-old has previously spoken frankly about his own struggles and suicidal thoughts.

“Boxing has been a massive platform for me to spread the word on mental health and I have done it to the best of my ability,” said Fury.

“I have been very vocal about my mental health struggle, especially since my comeback.

“It has been widely printed about my highs and lows, ups and downs, so I’ve tried my best to keep talking about it as much as I can and keep trying to smash the stigma.”

Fury is well known for taking the mic in the ring. Pic: AP
Image:
Fury is well known for taking the mic in the ring. Pic: AP

Fury says he also hopes his version of Sweet Caroline will go down well with England fans heading to the World Cup in Qatar, with the tournament starting next month.

The song is also popular with football fans and was sung by supporters after the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 triumph.

There’s also a special dance remix being worked on, according to record label bosses.

It’s also not the first time Fury has been in the studio – he recorded a duet with Robbie Williams for the star’s 2019 Christmas album.

Fury’s next fight is at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 3 December when he takes on Chisora for a third time.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

‘There’s a barrier to receiving help’: Campaigners call for more support for student mental health services | UK News

Campaigners have said there is still a long way to go to support young people and prevent suicides after the government announced further funding for student mental health services.

The Student Minds mental healthy charity has received a three-year funding commitment of £262,500 annually from the Office for Students and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, to extend the provision of Student Space.

The platform offers students one-to-one mental health support as well as services via web, call and text.

The funding comes after the government allocated £3m to help the NHS work more closely with universities when providing students with mental health support.

However, campaigners have said there is a long way to go when it comes to providing students with the best possible mental health provisions.

Mental health activist Ben West told Sky News: “So many students I talk to don’t know what’s available, and even if they know what’s available they’re so mysteriously presented that, that there’s so much anxiety about going.

“That is such a barrier to receiving that help.”

He added that discrepancies between universities are also rife.

Mr West said: “It varies massively from university to university.

“Some universities I’ve seen and heard about are great, they’re very proactive in terms of the support they offer, and some universities are incredibly unproductive.

“We need so much more regulation and guidance from government.”

In 2018, Natasha Abrahart took her own life while in her second year at the University of Bristol.

Struggling with social anxiety, her well-being deteriorated as she faced increasing pressure around oral university assessments.

Her department was made aware of her situation.

Robert Abrahart, her father, told Sky News about how Natasha’s flatmate had written to staff about the fact the student had been having suicidal thoughts “and to some degree attempted it”.

He said: “At that point, you’d think people would pick up on it and do something.

“In fact, yes, they helped her to get to the GP service, but did nothing else in the department.”

Natasha Abrahart
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Natasha Abrahart took her own life in her second year of university

Her mother Margaret Abrahart added: “I think they were quite frightened to talk to her in case it was upsetting.

“But then at the same time, they seem OK with putting her into a situation that would be really upsetting.”

Her parents later learned of more attempts their daughter had made to get help.

Mr Abrahart said: “There’s records of her searching the internet for ways of solving her own problems.”

Her mother added: “It’s very tragic to see the attempts she made to sort out her own problems.

“It was just one of those problems that was just too difficult, and she needed help”.

Natasha Abrahart with parents Robert and Margaret
Image:
Natasha Abrahart with parents Robert and Margaret

Ultimately, a landmark court ruling found the university’s failures contributed to Natasha’s death.

At the time, the University of Bristol said staff worked hard and diligently to support her and it is committed to providing the best possible support for students.

The university has also applied to appeal the court’s decision.

The case sparked conversations around student mental health, and her parents continue to campaign so other students don’t experience the distress Natasha did.

There are also concerns about the training around mental health provided to student-facing staff.

Read more:
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One in six young people in England has a diagnosable mental health condition

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Sky News obtained data from 109 universities through Freedom of Information requests.

It showed that 98% offer student-facing staff mental health training.

However, it isn’t mandatory in 67 out of 107 institutions – that’s 63%.

And while 37%, 40 out of 107, have some form of mandate – in most cases, this doesn’t cover all staff.

Clinical psychologist Peter Kinderman told Sky News understanding of mental health must be widespread.

He said: “It should be part of the duty of care that all university staff – and that includes cleaning staff as well as lecturing staff – should have towards their students.

“It should be inherent in what universities do.

“If universities are ducking their responsibilities to understand and then support student mental health, then I think they’re at fault.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK