With many young people struggling with their mental health across England, new research by mental health charity Mind shows that almost one in three grandparents in Manchester say that mental health is their biggest concern for their grandchildren’s generation and that half of parents believe that their child’s mental health is now worse than pre pandemic.
Mind carried out its research with 178 grandparents and 143 parents in Manchester as part of its #FundtheHubs campaign and identified widespread support for a network of early mental health support hubs for young people in England.
The aim of the hubs is to provide vital wrap around wellbeing support for young people when they first start to experience mental health problems, with no need for a referral or appointment.
The data also revealed that fewer than one in seven parents from Manchester believe that the UK Government is doing enough to support young people’s mental health, with seven in ten saying that it is difficult for young people to get NHS mental health support.
Only one in four Manchester-based grandparents (26%) think the government is doing enough to support young people’s mental health with almost four in five (78%) believing that the UK is facing a mental health crisis.
Paul Farmer, CEO at Mind said:
“Mental health is one of the primary concerns of parents and grandparents with only one in four grandparents in Manchester believing the UK government is doing enough to support young people’s mental health. More than four in five (86%) of all parents we surveyed in Manchester are worried about the long-term impact of the pandemic on their children. These shocking statistics highlight the crisis parents and grandparents are experiencing first hand when it comes to the mental health of their own children and grandchildren.
“The mental health needs of young people are increasing rapidly. Recent figures show that one in six children aged five to 16 identified as having a probable mental health problem in July 2021*. In 2017, it was one in nine young people. However young people are still left facing an agonising wait in a system that cannot keep up with demand and the UK government’s response so far has just not been good enough.
“The scale of unmet need for relevant and appropriate mental health support for young people is huge and growing. By not acting now the UK government risks failing a whole generation. A successful 10-year cross-government plan for mental health must commit to Funding the Hubs. The provision of a network of early support hubs for young people across England would make sure 11-25 year olds have somewhere to go when they first start to struggle – rather than being left to reach crisis point and needing more intensive – and expensive – support. The earlier a young person gets support for their mental health, the more effective that support is likely to be.”
