William and Kate's World Mental Health Day special on Newsbeat
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
TV star Dr Alex George has told the Government that “the time for talking is over” as he demanded immediate action to tackle the youth mental health crisis.
Mental health ambassador Dr George said Britain’s children are among the unhappiest in the developed world. He warned that the Government “needs to act now” to alleviate the “growing epidemic” of mental ill-health among youngsters.
“I’m done talking about it. I know the political system is in disarray but this is an emergency.”
Among his demands in a letter to PM Liz Truss and her successor are mental health training in schools, experts in all schools, universities and workplaces who can spot mental health problems, and a network of support hubs for youngsters.
Dr George worked as a hospital doctor before being appointed youth mental health ambassador by ex-prime minister Boris Johnson in February 2021. He is a former contestant on the ITV Love Island series.
A survey of teachers from mental health charity YoungMinds found 78 percent say pupils’ mental health has got worse since they started teaching.
Two-thirds of those who started their career during the pandemic believe children’s mental health had deteriorated in that period.
The analysis of 1,001 primary and secondary school teachers also found that 88 percent are more involved than ever in supporting young people on mental health.
Dr George, whose youngest brother Llyr died by suicide in July 2020 and who is now touring schools to talk about improving child mental health, said: “I’m not surprised by these statistics.
“All the teachers I meet say they are terrified about young people’s mental health problems which are out of control. There has been enough back and forth with the Government. Everyone agrees we need action. I will work with anyone in Number 10 and we need to start now.”
He highlighted the fact there are “almost 500,000 children waiting for NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services” (CAMHS), with some waiting up to two years to be seen and as many as one in four being rejected by the service even after waiting.
He has joined forces with YoungMinds to call on the Government to invest in a national network of early support hubs to allow “every young person to have a place to go for support without having an appointment or being on a waiting list”.
He added: “Experts all agree this would be the biggest thing the Government could do right now to support young people’s mental health. Some already exist but we need them to be centrally funded – and nationwide.”
Dr George is also calling for “all schools, universities and workplaces” to employ someone with mental health first-aid training to spot warning signs and get people support. “So many people kill themselves before they can get help.”
He added: “If it is mandatory to have fire drills; you can’t argue there are no grounds to have people who can intervene to prevent a suicide.” Training on mental ill-health should be in the school curriculum to help children understand how to deal with it. “And we need to teach children financial literacy, as the number one cause of worry for adults is money.”
He also warned: “The UK focuses on exams more than any other country in Europe. It contributes to children’s mental ill-health but doesn’t make them more academically successful.”
Young people being referred to CAMHS have reached a record high, with a 23 percent rise in under-18s needing NHS treatment over the last year. Government figures show more than one in six children aged five to 16 have a probable mental health disorder – it was one in nine pre-pandemic.
But less than a third get access to NHS care and treatment. Eighty percent of young people with a mental health condition say it worsened during the pandemic, YoungMinds research shows.
Olly Parker, its head of external affairs, said: “Our next PM needs to recommit to immediate action on access to NHS services and dedicated mental health funding for schools.”
Source: Read Full Article
