The House Article | Help us act on the emergency of young people’s mental health

(Shotshop GmbH/Alamy)

4 min read22 min

For anyone reading this article, there is a strong chance that a young person in your life has had issues with their mental health, be they your own child, a niece or nephew, a grandchild or a young family friend.

So much has changed over the last 10 to 15 years to ramp up the pressure on young people. New stresses and strains have entered children’s lives, from harmful online content to the Covid lockdowns, and pressure to pass exams and find work.

Young people’s referrals to mental health services are breaking records. According to analysis by charity YoungMinds, 932,822 people under the age of 18 had an active referral to mental health services in March, which included 134,837 new referrals. Both figures are the highest on record for a single month.

And the data paints another disheartening picture: those who are referred for help can face unacceptably long waits. In 2023-24, one-third of children referred to NHS mental health services waited a year for their next appointment. It goes without saying that a year is a long time in a child’s life, potentially critical to their results at the end of school, college or university.

Despite the dedication of those on the front line, public services haven’t been able to keep up. Youth services, another vital asset, have been stripped back.

How and why we got here has been well-rehearsed already. The select committees we chair – Health and Social Care, and Education – now want to investigate what is happening on the ground, in the lives of children and young people needing support.

As part of our joint inquiry, we want to put on record the experiences of children and young people, their parents and carers, who have tried to get help with their mental health. We want to see what lessons can be learnt and what patterns emerge from their stories.

To do this, the two committees have launched a survey to gather these perspectives – to hear where different services were lacking and how things varied between different pathways.

And we know it won’t be as simple as streamlining one or two processes, because the pathways to mental health support are many and varied, from GPs and NHS inpatient services to university pastoral support and youth clubs.

From our anonymous survey, we want to hear about the experiences of accessing support through all of these pathways – how they worked and what could have been better. Was there an issue with how far you had to travel? Did communication dry up just when you thought you were making progress? Did you have to explain yourself over and over again?

Young people’s referrals to mental health services are breaking records

And what should there have been more of? What was good about your experience? What helped the most?

With enough responses, this research will be invaluable for building up a picture of which areas provide the best outcomes, and which pathways are the most problem-prone and why.

This evidence will be put directly to ministers. Then, at the end of our inquiry, we will produce a report to the education and health departments. We will make recommendations to the government on how to ensure children and young people’s mental health services are more accessible, more equitable and more effective. At that point, ministers will be obliged to answer us and set out what they plan to do.

No child or young person should have to struggle through a system intended to help them through life’s toughest challenges. We can make that journey easier. But first, we must listen. 

To visit the survey, go to tinyurl.com/45hbwwsm

Helen Hayes is the Labour MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, and Education Committee chair. Layla Moran is the Lib Dem MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, and Health and Social Care Committee chair