Mental health services for children are struggling to cope with an “exponential growth in demand” since the pandemic, NHS bosses have admitted.

The warning comes amid concerns the volume of children being referred for treatment could be “just the tip of the iceberg”.

A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s young people’s scrutiny committee was told despite increased mental health provision for children across England’s largest county, NHS waiting lists were soaring with the majority of children waiting for three months to be seen.

The extent of the issue in North Yorkshire has been exposed less than a week after a national Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation study revealed the impact of covid-19 had led to an unprecedented increase in demand for mental health services for children.

It warned a generation of children are at risk of being left behind because of a combination of soaring waiting times for services and the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on their mental health.

Rising waiting times, including for urgent cases, have come despite the Government’s response including £79 million nationally to accelerate previous plans to improve children’s wellbeing and mental healthcare provision in education and healthcare settings, as well as other initiatives.

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Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Trust bosses told the scrutiny meeting its community-based mental health team was now treating more than 2,500 children across the county, and referrals to its services had risen from about 100 a month at start of pandemic to more than 300 a month during 2021.

NHS and council health bosses emphasised the children’s mental health system was under great strain, exacerbated due to difficulties recruiting and retaining staff and increasing numbers of complex cases.

The meeting heard there had been a particular spike in the number of youngsters needing help for eating disorders.

Councillors were told just one in four of children found to need “urgent” help for eating disorders were being seen within the one-week national standard.

Councillors said they feared children, and in particular pre-school age and teenagers, had not had the normal chances to develop social skills during the pandemic, the impact on their mental health could be in the years to come.

Escrick councillor Richard Musgrave said: 

“I am deeply concerned that we are seeing the tip of the iceberg at the moment in terms of children’s and young people’s mental health.”

Selby councillor Stephanie Duckett added: 

“Rather than being at the peak of the problem we could just be at the start.”

In response, a boss for the NHS trust said it was forecasting an increase in demand for children’s mental health services over the next five years, but declined to reveal the extent of the expected rise.

North Yorkshire County Council is in talks to buy land previously earmarked for a mental health facility at Cardale Park, Harrogate.

The council confirmed it has set money aside to purchase land at the site, which is owned by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.

The land had previously been given approval for a 36-bed mental health facility, following the closure of Harrogate District Hospital’s Briary Unit, which helped adults with mental illness.

However, those plans were dropped in 2019 and inpatients on the unit were sent to Foss Park Hospital in York instead.

Read more:

• New base for Harrogate mental health crisis team yet to be found
• How did we get here? The closure of Harrogate’s Briary Unit is a story of political debate and debt

Dale Owens, assistant director for commissioning and quality at the county council, said:

“We have agreed that funding set aside for extra care will be used to purchase land at Cardale Park to assist with social care market development in the Harrogate area.

“Different options will be considered before detailed plans are brought forward. A separate report will be brought to the executive in due course seeking approval for any final plans.

“Discussions are ongoing about the purchase and further details will also be brought to the executive.”

Cllr Jim Clark, a Conservative councillor who sits on the West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel to represent North Yorkshire, told the Stray Ferret he was pleased the site was going to be used.

He said:

“It is important that this site is used for the benefit of local people.

“I would have preferred it to be a mental health facility, but I am glad that it is going to be used for assisted housing for people instead.”

The trust, which runs mental health services in Harrogate, has relocated services following the closure of the Briary Wing.

The unit’s mental health crisis team moved to The Orchards in Ripon last year.

Despite assurances that the move was not a “long term solution”, the trust has yet to find a new base for the service.

Health bosses have yet to find a new base for Harrogate’s mental health crisis team, despite conceding that it had to return “at the earliest possible opportunity”.

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental health services for the district, moved the team to The Orchards at Ripon following the closure of the Harrogate District Hospital’s Briary Unit in April.

Adult and children crisis teams support people with mental health problems who may otherwise need to go to hospital.

Officials relocated the team, which includes 29 staff, after they were unable to identify alternative accommodation in Harrogate. They said the move was a short-term solution and that work was underway to find a new site.

At a North Yorkshire Health Scrutiny meeting in December, trust managers conceded that the move “cannot be sustained in the long term” and that it had to return “at the earliest possible opportunity”.

Read more:

• Harrogate needs mental health crisis team ‘at earliest opportunity’
• Harrogate families describe anguish of mental health problems and impact of Briary Unit closure

However, the trust has now said it intends to explore requirements for a new site “in the near future”.

Naomi Lonergan, director of operations for North Yorkshire and York at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We intend to explore our requirements for a new location for our Harrogate mental health crisis services in the near future, which will include discussions with our stakeholders and partners.

“It remains our priority to offer face-to-face contact and see people who need crisis interventions in their homes or as close to home as possible. Although the crisis team has been relocated to Ripon, most people accessing the services can still do so in the Harrogate area.

“We continue to use rooms in the Harrogate community bases to enable face-to-face contact and we are also offering attend anywhere virtual consultations where clinically appropriate.”

Harrogate District Hospital’s Briary Wing, which offered specialist inpatient care for people suffering with mental health problems, closed in April.

Inpatient mental health services transferred to York.

North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys medical services for the county, said the transfer of inpatient beds “released £500,000”, which could be invested in community mental health services.

Have you been affected by this change in mental health services? Get in touch at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

A mental health crisis team needs to return to Harrogate “at the earliest possible opportunity”, according to health bosses.

Harrogate District Hospital’s Briary Wing, which offered specialist inpatient care for people suffering with mental health problems, closed in April.

Inpatient mental health services transferred to York.

The adult and children crisis teams, which support people with mental health problems who may otherwise need to go to hospital and includes 29 staff, relocated to Ripon after officials were unable to identify alternative accommodation in Harrogate.

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental health services for the Harrogate district, has conceded the move out of town “cannot be sustained in the long term”.

The quote is contained in a report due before North Yorkshire County Council’s health scrutiny panel this week.

The report also says the trust “fully acknowledged” that the service should be moved back to Harrogate “at the earliest possible opportunity”.

Read more:

• Harrogate mental health unit closes amid fears of increased demand due to coronavirus
• Harrogate families describe anguish of mental health problems and impact of Briary Unit closure

About 300 people a month use the crisis team for advice, support and assessment.

Naomi Lonergan, TEWV director of operations for North Yorkshire and York told the Stray Ferret: 

“A lot of work was carried out to find new accommodation for the crisis teams in Harrogate. Unfortunately at the time there weren’t suitable premises that could accommodate both teams and allow them to work together in providing interventions.

“As a short term solution we transferred the team to a suitable space at our existing trust premises at The Orchards, Ripon. However work is underway to identify potential sites and explore all possible solutions to accommodate crisis teams to enable them to deliver a service across Harrogate and rural district.

“Whilst the team base is in Ripon, our priority is always to maintain face-to-face contact and see people who need crisis interventions in their homes or as close to home as possible. Most people accessing our crisis services continue to be seen in the Harrogate area.

“We have identified rooms in the Harrogate community bases to enable face-to-face contact, as well as using increased community investment in team members to enable more home visits where needed. Where clinically appropriate we are also offering attend anywhere virtual consultations too.”

North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys medical services for the county, said the transfer of inpatient beds “released £500,000”, which could be invested in community mental health services.

Have you been affected by this change in mental health services? Get in touch at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.