Rate of new referrals to secondary mental health services for young people (under 18) is 13,538 per 100,000 population
Mental health
Perfomance in Darlington
Rate of young people (under 18) admitted to hospital for mental health conditions is 200.8 per 100,000 population
Rate of young people (age 10 to 24 years) admitted to hospital as a result of self-harm is 382.1 per 100,000 population
Most children and young people maintain good mental health and wellbeing throughout their childhood. This is often with support from the people and organisations around them to keep them well. The Centre for Mental Health [external link] reports that nationally 1 in 5 children or young people will experience a mental health problem at some point during their childhood and many face challenges in accessing timely and effective interventions. Mind [external link] report that new urgent referrals to crisis care teams for children and young people under the age of 18 each month have more than tripled since 2019. Increased demand for mental health support places strain on already stretched services. Families report that children are unable to access early intervention as they do not meet thresholds for support, further increasing the risk of reaching crisis.
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) team offer a range of support in relation to admissions for self-harm and mental health for children and young people. All young people have immediate access to Crisis Teams via 111. The crisis teams triage calls and assess those young people who need an assessment urgently within 4 hours.
Children and Young People Mental Health Services in Darlington
Taking action to prevent poor mental health or to intervene with early effective support is vital to reducing the risk of children and young people reaching crisis point or needing more intensive interventions. Access to early mental health support for children and young people has been identified as a priority in Darlington’s Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy [pdf document]
A local priority is the availability of appropriate early interventions as well as supporting people to know how and when to access available services. Work is underway to better understand and guide people through the mental health landscape. This includes the introduction of a young person’s social prescribing service to support children and families to find the help they need at the point they need it.