EMERGING new figures show thousands of children and young people have been in contact or used mental health services in north Cumbria prompting questions over a new health crisis.

Children's mental health charity YoungMinds said the figures are "harrowing".

The charity spoke about what young people have to endure which may lead to this; such as increasing pressure at school and the impact of lockdowns on young people's mental health.

NHS figures show 3,590 children and young people had at least one contact with mental health services in the NHS North Cumbria CCG area in the 12 months to May.

Though this was down from 3,595 in April, it was a three per cent rise from 3,470 in July last year, when local figures were first recorded.

Across England, the number of children who had at least one contact with mental health services in the last year rose by 21 per cent from 570,000 in the year to March 2021 to 690,000 in the year to May.

The charity and others also raise doubts over the support these young people are receiving whether that be within the education system, or the NHS and the mental health services themselves. 

In north Cumbria, some 1,840 children were waiting to be seen at the end of May after being referred by a GP or other health professional.

Earlier this year,  YoungMinds surveyed almost 14,000 young people and found that 26 per cent have tried to take their own life as a result of having to wait for help.

Around 44 per cent said they had waited more than a month for mental health support after seeking it and 9 per cent said they were turned away.

More than half also said their mental health got worse while they were waiting for help.

The Department for Health and Social Care said supporting children's mental health is a ‘major priority’ and that it invested £79million in 2021-22 to expand services to support more than 22,000 children and young people.

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