The Government must go “further and faster” on its rollout of a network of hubs designed to address mental health problems in children and young people, a charity has said.
Long waits and barriers to accessing support mean many youngsters are reaching crisis point before they receive any kind of care, Mind said.
It comes as a poll by the charity found more than four in 10 youngsters feel stigmatised by the ongoing debate around the over-diagnosis of mental health problems.
In July, the Government announced it would launch eight Young Futures Hubs this year, with a view to rolling out 50 over the next four years.
The hubs will provide support for teenagers, targeting those who are at risk of developing mental health problems or joining criminal gangs.
However, a new report by Mind said the Government “has not yet confirmed the locations of the 50 hubs it has committed to, nor the size of the area they will service”.
The mental health charity has called for a hub to be located in every local authority area in England, as well as funding to support the rollout.
Minesh Patel, associate director of policy and influencing at Mind, told the PA news agency: “We know right now there’s a really big challenge with too many young people who are waiting for support.
“We know that there are issues around capacity in the system, but also we need to address the fact that people aren’t getting support at an earlier point.
“And actually, if we’re able to intervene at an earlier point, that’s better for everybody; it’s better for the individual, it’s better for our health system.
“The Government has made a good commitment to start with a pilot of eight hubs with a view to roll out 50 over time.
“But our view is that we need to go faster and further with that rollout, so that we’ve got a presence in every local authority.”
Mind estimates that sufficiently resourced hubs in every local authority area with 100% coverage by 2035 would cost up to £210 million per year, with a further one-off payment of up to £121 million.
Mr Patel said the absence of early support for mental health issues can not only lead to worsening mental and physical health, but also problems with relationships and education.
“For people who are of working age, we know that poor mental health can be both a barrier to getting into work, but then also falling out of work,” he added.
“It’s not just about the health benefits, there are also economic benefits as well, if we’re investing in support at the earlier stage.”
Figures show there are more than 500,000 young people on NHS waiting lists for support.
A survey published earlier this year also suggests one in four young adults in England suffer from conditions such as anxiety and depression.
Gabriella Christou, 18, from London, has been in contact with mental health services for five years after being referred by her GP during the Covid-19 pandemic when she was just 13.
The psychology student told PA: “Things were especially slower then, and I didn’t see anyone until I was 15 years old.
“I struggled with waiting for that long because I didn’t really hear much in the interim while I was waiting.”
After having 12 weeks of counselling through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Miss Christou was discharged at age 15, but reached out to her GP again a year later after reaching crisis point.
Her parents also paid for her to see a private psychiatrist to get an official diagnosis.
Before her A-levels in October 2024, Miss Christou went back to her GP again.
She was assessed the following February and then waited another 12 weeks to be referred to another service.
“It was unfortunate that it all coincided with my big exams,” Miss Christou said.
“After 12 weeks, they referred me to the complex anxiety and depression pathways, for them to do another assessment and then refer me somewhere else.”
However, by the time this happened, Miss Christou had moved to another city to study and was discharged back to her GP.
“It’s been a whole year and I haven’t seen anyone apart from when I was assessed once in February, and that was it,” she said.
“I feel quite angry about it – I know it’s no-one’s fault, but I just don’t understand.”
The report said there has been progress on tackling mental health stigma in recent years, but there are “growing concerns that we are beginning to take a step backwards in some areas”.
In March, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he believes there has been an “overdiagnosis” with “too many young people being written off”.
A survey of 1,061 young people by Mind found more than four in 10 (43%) have been negatively impacted by the debate around the over-diagnosis of mental health problems.
Miss Christou told PA the debate makes her “feel invalidated”.
Mr Patel said: “I think stigma still persists, even though we’ve had lots of positive awareness campaigns around the importance of mental health, talking about mental health more openly.
“We really want to use this report to shine a spotlight on the growing and real challenges within young people’s mental health, and for Government to recognise that it’s an issue that really matters politically to the electorate.”
