Nearly 200,000 children and young people referred to mental health services in April to June this year, nearly double pre-pandemic levels.

8,522 children and young people need crisis care, two-thirds higher than pre-pandemic levels according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Clare Grant, Solent Mind’s Assistant Director of Services says: “The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a huge toll on the nation's mental health, and we know that young people have been amongst the hardest hit. Long periods of isolation coupled with a changing and often scary world have seriously impacted their long term wellbeing.

“Young people have missed big parts of the way they would usually develop and naturally develop their support networks and understanding of the world. It has been a long 18 months for all us, but for young people more so - for example many youngsters who were 11 or 12 at the start of the pandemic are coming out of it as 13 or 14 year olds without the groundwork for the expectations and pressure that come with that stage of our lives.

“We know that services were stretched before the pandemic and this rise in need will add huge further pressures, our young people need us all to work together and invest in their mental health now more than ever.”

You can hear Clare on Wave 105’s news bulletins today.

Eighteen months after the first lockdown and after warnings from the mental health sector about the long-lasting mental health impact of the pandemic, NHS Digital data shows:

190,271 0-18-year-olds were referred to children and young people's mental health services between April and June this year, up 134% on the same period last year (81,170) and 96% on 2019 (97,342).

8,552 children and young people were referred for urgent or emergency crisis care between April and June this year, up 80% on the same period last year (4,741) and up 64% on 2019 (5,219).

340,694 children in contact with children and young people's mental health services at the end of June, up 25% on the same month last year (272,529) and up 51% on June 2019 (225,480).

If you, or anyone you know is in need of support, we're here for you. Find all our services, including those for children and young people, here: https://www.solentmind.org.uk/...