Children worst hit by NHS Covid backlog, say medical experts
Isobel Warner
Thursday, January 6, 2022
A combination of long delays for physical care, a surge in mental health referrals and the dangers of long covid means children have been worst hit by an NHS backlog caused by Covid-19, says the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH).
The warning from child health experts comes in response to a report by the House of Common’s health and social care committee, Clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic, which has exposed the “catastrophic impact” of long delays on patients.
The report by MPs also notes a backlog in public health messages, “where children have missed out on universal programmes largely delivered at school”.
NHS Digital data for England has shown that the number of children, aged 17 and under, being admitted into hospital between April to October last year increased by 69 per cent compared with pre-pandemic figures seen in 2019.
In December 2021, data also showed that there were more than 288,000 children and young people waiting for NHS treatment. Of that number, 86,000 children and young people have been awaiting treatment for longer than four months.
“Children are set to lose the most from the pandemic without major intervention,” said Dr Camilla Kingdon, president of the RCPCH.
“As outlined in the committee’s helpful report, tackling the backlogs of care needs an immediate long-term strategy. The future of our society - our children and young people - must be front of mind when government considers its response and future policy.
“Long delays to care have a particularly acute impact on children as many treatments are age or developmental stage critical. These figures are already stark and we are still mid-winter, with a much depleted workforce. As the report emphasises, an over-reliance on numerical targets fails to recognise hidden backlogs and this is never truer than in children’s services.”
Children and young people’s mental health services are also increasingly stretched.
According to the committee’s report, there was a 94 per cent increase in the number of children being referred to children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in May last year compared with May 2019.
NHS data published in August last year, revealed that the number of young people being treated for eating disorders was at a record high.
Speaking to the Guardian last week, Dr Agnes Ayton, the chair of the eating disorders faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrics, said: “The hidden epidemic of eating disorders has surged during the pandemic, with many community services now overstretched and unable to treat the sheer number of people needing help.
“Early intervention is key to recovery and to preventing serious illness, which is why it’s crucial that the money announced by government urgently reaches the frontline.”
