Mental health leaders fear the figures may only be the tip of the iceberg because many children are not seeking help or are unable to do so, despite increasing awareness.
Exclusive: More than 500 children a day in England are being referred to NHS mental health services for anxiety. In 2023-24, there were 204,526 new referrals. In 2019-20, the year before Covid-19 struck, the total was 98,953. In 2016-17, it was 3,879.
Exclusive: more than 500 children a day or one every three minutes are referred to mental health services in England
Officials said the rise in demand for care was straining the capacity of the health service to provide timely treatment for anxiety, with thousands of children on “unacceptably long” waiting lists.
Exclusive: More than 500 children a day in England are being referred to NHS mental health services for anxiety. In 2023-24, there were 204,526 new referrals. In 2019-20, the year before Covid-19 struck, the total was 98,953. In 2016-17, it was 3,879.
Exclusive: more than 500 children a day or one every three minutes are referred to mental health services in England
Doctors, NHS officials and health leaders said in interviews that the surge in anxiety referrals was “staggering” and “shocking” and laid bare an urgent need to tackle the crisis in children’s mental health.
Exclusive: More than 500 children a day in England are being referred to NHS mental health services for anxiety. In 2023-24, there were 204,526 new referrals. In 2019-20, the year before Covid-19 struck, the total was 98,953. In 2016-17, it was 3,879.
Exclusive: more than 500 children a day or one every three minutes are referred to mental health services in England
The alarming increase means children are now being referred to NHS mental health services in England for anxiety at a rate of one every three minutes or almost 4,000 a week.
Exclusive: More than 500 children a day in England are being referred to NHS mental health services for anxiety. In 2023-24, there were 204,526 new referrals. In 2019-20, the year before Covid-19 struck, the total was 98,953. In 2016-17, it was 3,879.
Exclusive: more than 500 children a day or one every three minutes are referred to mental health services in England
The Nice decision is a further blow to the companies behind the drug, Eisai and Biogen, as the treatment faces slow take-up in the US. It also lays bare the complexities tied to a new class of drugs that have benefited early-stage patients, but can cause serious side-effects.
It comes weeks after the EU’s drugs regulator also rejected the drug, saying the risk of serious brain swelling did not outweigh its small impact on slowing cognitive decline. It also said the effects of the drug on delaying cognitive decline were small.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the UK’s drugs regulator, gave the green light to the drug on Thursday. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), the health regulator, simultaneously ruled out offering the drug on the NHS.
Lecanemab, which is given twice a month, removes sticky clumps of protein amyloid beta from the brain, believed to be a hallmark of the disease. The drug is not a cure. But in clinical trials, the therapy slowed cognitive decline by 27% in early Alzheimer’s patients, compared with a placebo.