The number of referrals for secondary mental health services increased by more than 34% in the period between March 2021 and the start of this year.
Statistics from NHS England released today found that 1.89 million people in January 2024 had an open referral to a secondary mental health service. That compares to 1.41 million people in March 2021 – an increase of 480k monthly referrals in just three years.
Brett Hill, head of health and protection at independent consultancy Broadstone, (pictured) said: “We have seen a serious uptick in the prevalence of mental health issues since the pandemic, highlighted by the significant increase in referrals for secondary mental health services.
“With increased awareness of the importance of mental health and the stresses we have experienced during the pandemic and through the following economic and geopolitical uncertainty, the data may be unsurprising but is still extremely concerning.”
Though Hill added the one possible silver lining is the “significant proactive” steps many employers are now taking to protect the health and wellbeing of their employees.
“For mental health, this may involve carrying out mental health ‘audits’ to understand the prevalence and drivers of poor mental health, sourcing and promoting digital mental health solutions to reach home and hybrid workers or investing in onsite mental health services to support those employees who have returned to office working,” Hill continued.
“Mental health awareness training for line managers and leaders can also play a vital role.
“These steps can develop a positive and supportive workplace culture while also helping to detect and treat mental health concerns at an early stage before they become more complex, -speeding up recovery and minimising the cost of absenteeism, while also mitigating the risk of potentially costly claims on employee health insurance benefit programmes.”