YOUNG people being overdiagnosed with mental health conditions has left the state at breaking point, a report warns.
Policy Exchange’s study is backed by Jeremy Hunt, who as Health Secretary in 2012 pushed to give mental health the same importance as physical health.
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He now admits a surge in diagnoses — as parents chased support for kids — had “unintended consequences” by overwhelming the special educational needs (SEND) system.
The report says costs are “unsustainable” and seeks a radical overhaul.
Mr Hunt said: “We seem to have lost sight of the reality that child development is a messy and uneven process.”
He added that in trying to support young people there are “excessive impulses to medicalise and diagnose the routine, which can undercut grit and resilience”.
READ MORE ON MENTAL HEALTH
Earlier in the year, The Sun revealed that nearly one million children and young people were referred for mental health help last year.
Over 958,200 children in England were referred to Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services.
That is equal to eight per cent of England’s population of 12 million children.
And an increase of 10,000 from the previous year, according to research by the Children’s Commissioner.
Anxiety was the most common reason, followed by neurodevelopmental conditions and autism.
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza called for urgent action to tackle waiting times.
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