Young children are having panic attacks about play dates after lockdowns

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Children as young as five years old have been having panic attacks around meeting up with their friends for play dates following repeated lockdowns throughout the pandemic, NHS leaders have claimed.

Experts say that young children have become prone to heightened anxiety and depression since lockdowns began more than a year ago, and that many are even fearful to leave their homes.

Figures reported by The Telegraph suggest that an extra 1.5 million children and young people will require mental health support as a direct result of the pandemic in the next three to five years.

Already, since the first lockdown, 420,501 young people have received NHS treatment for mental health issues, but this is likely to be the tip of the iceberg.

Waiting times for NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are now up to four years long in some locations, and most families cannot wait that long. Instead, they are being forced to turn to private psychologists.

At the start of the pandemic, children were able to access private mental health services within roughly two weeks, but now, many private psychologists are also overexerted — taking twice as many calls from concerned parents — and unable to accept new patients.

The Centre for Mental Health estimates that demand for mental health services could currently be three times higher than the available supply.

Dame Rachel De Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England told a meeting of the NHS Confederation that mental health will be the greatest concern of the current generation of children. She added that children around the country are suffering from “locked-in” trauma and struggling to adjust to the constant changes in their lives.

“I’ve been around the country and seen those sad little faces … putting their arms around their friends as they tell me about having their trauma from losing a grandparent, not being able to go to a funeral. Coming out of lockdown and not knowing how to make friends anymore, not knowing how to talk to anyone else.”

At the meeting, a number of health officials shared their own struggles in trying to find help for their children.

One senior figure said: “My five-year-old is housebound because she’s too scared to go away from the house, never mind to school.

“No one can even refer me to someone privately as they don’t know of any local child psychotherapists who will see someone of her age.”

Another said that her daughter, who is undergoing therapy, had a panic attack about going on a “play date”.

NHS England is expected to announce £40mn for children’s mental health services later today.

Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s national mental health director has said: “The pandemic has turned young people’s lives upside down, and while in some areas of the country staff are now treating more young people than ever before, the NHS has worked with schools and other local agencies to ensure early intervention and support, including through 183 mental health support teams working across the country”.