The number of referrals for children’s mental health services has soared during the pandemic and is now the biggest source of child referrals for a health issue, according to Royal London.
Data from the mutual revealed that mental health services has topped the list of reasons for children’s support required on Royal London’s protection policies, which is provided by RedArc.
The most common reason for referral in 2021 for children’s services was for mental health issues (32%), up from pre-pandemic levels of 23% in 2019.
The average age of children using the RedArc service was 12 years old, a third (34%) were 10 and under and the youngest referral was just three years old.
As well as practical advice and emotional support for the parents, in two thirds of cases (64%) external services like counselling sessions, private consultations and hypnotherapy treatment were organised for the child.
Royal London revealed hypnotherapy has been found to be useful in cases of children with suicidal thoughts, eating disorders and anxiety.
Jennifer Gilchrist, protection specialist at Royal London, noted that added value services on protection policies can be vital, especially when accessing help and support through the NHS often means significant waiting times.
“The pandemic was exceptionally challenging for everyone from a health perspective. It has also caused huge disruption to the lives of children, young people and families, who suffered from a wide range of impacts on their health and wellbeing,“ she said.
“School closures and suspension of their normal lives took its toll on the mental health and wellbeing of many children, who because of additional pressure on health services struggled to access help and support through the usual channels.
“This is a great example of the tangible value protection cover provides in addition to its core purpose of providing a financial safety net. We encourage customers to make use of the service available through their policy and seek help as early as possible before any issue escalates.”
Christine Husbands, managing director at Red Arc, added: “We’re acutely aware of the wider demand the pandemic has created for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), which we’re seeing feed through to RedArc as families struggle to find help for their children’s mental health.
“The children and young people referred to us through their Royal London policy typically have quite complex conditions. Their parents have tried to manage it themselves, but ultimately they recognise that when things get really bad they need to seek additional help.
“In particular there’s been a significant spike in child anxiety and depression since the Covid pandemic, in part due to increased anxieties within the family, and long absences from school and other social and sporting opportunities.”
