A mental health crisis isn’t just brewing for young people, it’s spiralling every day (Behind closed bedroom doors, a teenage mental health crisis is brewing, 29 January). It’s particularly stark for the UK’s 50,000 deaf children and young people, many of whom currently face either struggling at home with inaccessible online learning, or going into school where face masks can make it extremely difficult to understand what others are saying.
This new reality is accelerating a growing mental health crisis and fuelling chronic loneliness and isolation. As we talk about “building back better”, we must avoid the events of this pandemic leaving a lasting imprint on young people nationwide.
Susan Daniels
Chief executive, National Deaf Children’s Society
• The pandemic has removed the rich breadth of experiences that children need: from the loss of learning, family and social ties, to access to nature, and, for many of those known to children’s mental health services, the loss of wraparound support. Prior to lockdown, one in six children had a probable mental health condition. But over the last six months we’ve seen a sharp increase in NHS and self-referrals, and the start of a now inevitable echo-pandemic in mental health. Our work with families confirms the seriousness of the challenge, and the levels of real distress children are experiencing.
However, much progress has been made in improving access to services. The last year has accelerated the shift to digital delivery, which means we can see more patients, more quickly than ever before. In particular, we’re seeing a “death of distance”, whereby patients can connect to clinicians wherever they are. Wider access will mean more children recovering successfully, and their lives getting back on track.
Alice Parshall
Medical director at the mental healthcare practice, Clinical Partners
• I was touched by Gaby Hinsliff’s article on the behavioural problems of children during lockdown. There seems to be no way to allow children to socialise (which seems to be at the root cause) without the risk of spreading the virus. Or is there? Here’s an idea. Split classes into pairs of children who are allowed to meet in a bubble of two. It would have to be voluntary for parents to participate. Pairing would have to be decided by teachers wisely and sensitively. The child pairs could share online education and social activity, and relieve parental workload and stress a bit. Surely it’s worth a pilot at least?
John Clark
Wincanton, Somerset
• The problem is that there are no quick fixes for older teenagers. There is talk of counsellors being installed in schools, but if they have no resources to which struggling pupils can be directed, they will reach burnout rapidly (Children’s mental health services in England ‘unable to meet demand’, 28 January).
We should have been planning for a year about restarting society in a way that adapts to precautions that will need to be in place for a long time. Sports clubs, arts groups, choirs, and all the other societies that help adolescents develop interests and talents, and learn to socialise, have been closed for a long time and can’t be reopened instantly. Making society more friendly to them will be more effective than counselling, but nobody in power seems to have any interest in looking into this. But if we don’t, we won’t have a functioning society in five years.
Dr Michael Peel
London
