Suicidal teens are struggling to get mental health support amid a "crisis" in children's services.
The complexity of cases and demand on services like occupational therapists and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) haven risen in the last three years. A survey by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) found nearly half its members felt unable to provide the level of treatment young people need, leading the professional body to warn children's services are at "crisis point".
People living on the Wirral told the ECHO they've struggled to get appointments or treatment from CAMHS, even in cases where the young person is suicidal and self-harming. Three years ago, Mary's daughter was a "lovely, social butterfly" who acted on stage and competed in gymnastics.
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But after the Covid-19 pandemic began and classes moved to Zoom, the nine-year-old "really went in on herself", stopped eating or sleeping properly, and "started losing weight considerably". Her daughter eats so little, Mary (not her real name) said, she's stopped growing and her periods haven't started.
Mary, 47, told the ECHO "it's as if I've lost my daughter, and I'm just trying to find her again". She said: "You can see your child deteriorating in front of you. She's self-harming, she's only a child, a young child who's not even hit maturity yet. She doesn't want to be here anymore. She quite openly told the doctor in January that she would know how to kill herself."
During a GP visit after concerns were raised by the girl's school, she told the doctor she'd thought about killing herself - several times just that day - and knew what method she's use. That "scared the cr*p" out of Mary, who's found it "really difficult" to get her daughter help in the last two and a half years, saying: "It's just heartbreaking as a parent that I can't help my child."
The now-12-year-old was assessed by CAMHS at Easter and is now on a waiting list for treatment. In the meantime, her options are "limited", according to Mary, who said her daughter has had to rely on six-week counselling programmes through school, which end just as she makes progress, leaving her "constantly repeating herself every time she sees someone new".
She's started attending a sessions run by a local support group, through which she may be able to get one-to-one counselling. Mary said: "It's only for an hour once a week, but I feel, at least at the moment, my daughter's got something to hang on to and somebody to talk to who has got the expertise to be able to give that positive feedback on how to turn around her negative thoughts."
Mary fears even that "will probably never be able to get to the bottom of it" without the specialist support of CAMHS, and she thinks "the system is broken". But others haven't even found that level of support. Kate (not her real name), from New Brighton, said her GP's referrals to CAMHS were rejected five times since 2016.
What she first thought was a "flu" was diagnosed as anxiety, which left her feeling "nauseous all the time" and unable to go to school. Her GP continued referring her to CAMHS as her condition got worse, vomiting "every single morning" and suffering panic attacks that left her "shaking and crying", but again she was rejected. She said: "I constantly had this feeling that I wasn't sick enough, which is a really horrible mindset."
Even after Kate suffered a sexual assault, became "severely depressed", started self-harming and wanted to end her life, CAMHS rejected her as she was about to turn 18. She "felt completely and utterly devastated", saying: "I don't even bother trying to get appointments with people anymore because part of me feels like I'm just going to get a rejection. You do feel cast aside and forgotten about."
Kate had been "really excited" about her dreams for the future. She was on track to get A*A*A* in her A-levels and wanted to get into the film industry, but she dropped out of sixth form "because everything got too much". She believes the lack of help allowed her mental health to get that bad.
Now on antidepressants, which doctors are reluctant to prescribe to kids, she said: "I threw away a lot of stuff I had planned for me and my future because I was just so depressed, I couldn't even get out of bed to do school. I really wouldn't wish that on any young person. I'd hate for any other little 14-year-old to grow up to be 19 years old and just be worse off that when they first asked for help."
She added: "If you're not getting help [from the NHS ], you're really limited in your options. I come from a working class family, I couldn't afford to go private, so I have to rely on whether the NHS lets me get help or not, basically."
Mary's daughter is still performing well academically, but she's worried how long that will last unless her mental health improves. She told the ECHO: "It's been so hard to get my daughter that assistance and still she isn't receiving that quality assistance that she's entitled, which is obviously CAMHS, and she's still on a waiting list. That's all the doctors do, they don't lead you anywhere else, they just give you a suicide helpline number. But I'm not going to know if my daughter is having suicidal thoughts if she's not talking to me."
Suzanne Edwards, deputy chief executive and director of operations at Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP), which is responsible for CAMHS in Wirral, said: "CWP has noticed the level of complexity and demand for CAMHS services has increased since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We are continuing to work hard with commissioners to understand the impact within our population, implementing a series of measures to help reduce the number of young people waiting for appointments, which has already reduced by 68% since March 2022 - with Wirral CAMHS.
"In addition, CWP mental health support teams are based within all primary schools across Wirral, which is part of a national drive to improve access to mental health support for young people. CWP has also recently set up a dedicated team of care navigators to ensure young people and families receive personalised support and treatment.
"For any young person who finds themselves in a mental health crisis and in need of urgent support, our 24/7 urgent mental health helpline can be accessed by calling 0800 145 6485. There is also a text messaging service for anyone unable to call. Text 'BLUE' to 85258 to start a text conversation with a trained volunteer, who will provide free and confidential support."
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