Aug 8, 2022, (UK) Sun: CRISIS POINT Warning as 1 in 6 kids plagued by mental health issues – the 5 signs you must not ignore https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/19454600/mmental-health-warning-crisis-children/
FOR Annie Arkwright, the fact that huge numbers of young people are seeking mental health support comes as no surprise.
The mum of two from Shropshire has been calling for better support for teens since her 19-year-old daughter Lily took her own life in 2020.
Now, new research claims more than one in three teenagers has been prescribed antidepressants, a figure that has escalated since the pandemic.
According to the poll by youth mental health charity stem4, around 37 per cent of youngsters aged 12 to 18 say they have been offered the drugs by doctors.
It comes as struggling NHS services are being forced to turn desperate kids away.
According to the NHS, rates of probable mental health disorders have increased since 2017.
In six to 16-year-olds, the increase has been from one in nine (11.6 per cent) to one in six (17.4 per cent).
In 17 to 19-year-olds, the figure has risen from one in ten (10.1 per cent) to one in six (17.4 per cent).
NHS figures show children and young people waiting to start mental health care or undergoing treatment in England reached 420,314 in February — the highest figure since records began in 2016.
And those numbers have increased 54 per cent since February 2020 and by 24 per cent in the past year.
