England facing children’s mental health ‘crisis’ as referrals hit 1m

More than 1 million children were referred to mental health services across England last year, with referrals up 10% from the year previous, according to a report by the children’s commissioner, Rachel de Souza. She said the country faced a “crisis” in young people’s mental health. The number of patients who had an active referral to children and young people’s mental health services across England surpassed 1 million for the first time in 2024-25. This was almost double the number recorded in 2018-19, and an almost 10% rise on the previous year. De Souza said there was “no disguising the fact the figures in this report are stark”. Referrals bar graph Anxiety remained the most common reason for referrals, accounting for 16% of them. Minesh Patel, associate director for evidence, advocacy and performance at Mind, said: “The scale of demand and the unmet need set out in this report is deeply concerning. With more than 1 million children now referred to mental health services, but many waiting months or years for support, it’s clear that the system is struggling to respond to the mental health challenges that young people are experiencing. “It is particularly worrying that over a third of children are still waiting for treatment – many for more than two years. The longer young people go without good-quality mental health support, the more unwell they can become, increasing the likelihood of needing to access support from crisis and A&E services. …