Every £1 spent on helping young people access activities and support in the community could save almost twice as much on longer-term mental health problems, according to new analysis.
Children’s charity Barnardo’s is calling on the government to introduce a national strategy for ‘social prescribing’ for young people in England, amid a youth mental health crisis that is placing unprecedented demand on child and adolescent mental health services (Camhs).
Social prescribing refers to non-clinical treatments targeted at children who are experiencing mental health problems such as isolation, anxiety, low mood and low self-esteem, and aims to prevent these from developing into more serious conditions.
This could be as simple as encouraging them to go to a local park, for example by providing a bus fare, or building their confidence after a bad experience such as being stopped and searched. It could also involve helping the young person to sign up to group activities, creative hobbies or sports, and signposting to counselling and help with referrals to other health and social care services.
Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo’s, said she had seen through the charity’s work with children and young people that “this can really help to turn their lives around” and prevent the need for clinical NHS services.
“Children and young people have to wait months, and in many cases years, to get the help and support they need when they are struggling with their mental health. Their condition often only gets worse while their names sit on long waiting lists,” she said.
“That’s why we’re calling on the government to put the backbone of funding and infrastructure in place to ensure that social prescribing is available to all children and young people who need it across the country.”
Social prescribing is particularly important for families who feel socially excluded, said Becky Rice, author of the Barnardo’s report, as well as to tackle high levels of anxiety and school absenteeism among children.
“Children and young people have been locked indoors because of Covid, isolated from school, family, friends and the community, and now there’s the cost of living where families struggle to afford basic necessities, let alone after-school clubs. They’ve been isolated from community assets – natural spaces, clubs, activities – which we know has an impact on health and development,” she said.
But the report warns that current models of social prescribing and training for link workers are inconsistent and fragmented across the country, focusing on adults, with no dedicated funding streams for children, despite their different needs.
Barnardo’s has calculated that for every £1 spent on social prescribing, there are long-term benefits of around £1.80 in terms of reduced pressure on mental health services, as well as indirect impacts on antisocial behaviour, A&E attendances, housing problems, children in care and truancy.
As one in five GP appointments are for non-clinical issues, the Open Data Institute estimates that social prescribing could reduce the need for GP appointments by 2.5-3% per year, or 2.8-3 million appointments.
Kathryn Ridley credits social prescribing with saving the life of her child Beth, 14, who received support from the Link service in Penrith after struggling to get help through Camhs for mental health and gender identity challenges, including isolation, panic attacks, hallucinations, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
A GP referred the family to a Link Worker who developed a trusting relationship with Beth, providing emotional support and helping them to get a referral for LGBTQ+ counselling, as well as taking them to the Pride in North Cumbria (PiNC) youth organisation. She also helped them secure a part-time timetable at school and later an autism diagnosis.
Beth said being taken to PiNC was “a big deal” because it allowed them to meet people who faced the same challenges, and “it’s not something I would have done on my own”.
Kathryn added: “It was an absolute lifeline and early intervention is so important to stop it getting out of hand. It’s such a shame that more young people don’t have access to this service and we’re very lucky in our area. It’s literally been a lifesaver for Beth and for us as a family. It was a very difficult time.
Beth is now back at school, where she is doing well academically and has taken dance lessons and joined an after-school drama club.
Kathryn said: “We’ve gone from a point where Beth didn’t want tomorrow to come to now having all these hopes and dreams and enthusiasm. Not every day is rosy, there’s still ups and downs, but Beth has been given the right tools to deal with them”.
The Department of Health and Social Care said: “Social prescribing can be an empowering and potentially life-changing intervention for those who need it, and has a key role to play in reducing waiting lists – one of the government’s five priorities.
“More than 2.3 million referrals have been made to social prescribing services – more than double our target – while the NHS has recruited 3,475 social prescribing link workers to put people in touch with social prescribing services that support their health and well-being.”
