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Lack of mental healthcare 'putting young lives at risk'

The Guardian

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January 02, 2025

The number of children referred to emergency mental healthcare in England has risen by 10% in a year, with lengthy waiting lists for regular NHS care pushing more to crisis point.

- Andrew Gregory

There were 34,793 emergency, very urgent and urgent referrals to child and adolescent mental health services crisis teams between April and October, analysis of official data by the mental health charity Young Minds found. The figure was 31,749 in the same six-month period in 2023.

Many of the children requiring emergency care - some suicidal or seriously ill as a result of eating disorders - have been stuck on NHS waiting lists for months, and in the worst cases several years.

Laura Bunt, the chief executive of Young Minds, said the figures showed thousands of children urgently required help earlier to prevent them becoming seriously unwell.

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