THOUSANDS of children and young people have suffered mental health problems in the Vale of York over the last year after the Covid pandemic took its toll.

NHS Digital figures show that 4,855 children and young people had at least one contact with mental health services in the NHS Vale of York CCG area in the 12 months to May.

This was up from 4,755 in April and the most since local figures were first recorded in July 2021.

Keri Brearey, of Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services in the York area, said the pandemic isolated children from their friends for several months as they didn’t go to school, and many young people lost their confidence and were left feeling anxious and scared.

“Since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have not only seen a rise in the number of young people accessing our services, but we are also seeing people with more complex mental health problems," she said. "This is being experienced both locally and nationally."

She said the trust was introducing new occupational therapists in York, Hambleton and Harrogate, who will work with young people to develop opportunities for them to engage in activities with a positive impact on their mental wellbeing.

"This is quite a revolutionary approach and we are one of the first services to offer this in the UK, so we are hoping to see great results," she said.

She added that a Wellbeing in Mind service also supported schools and colleges, helping to raise awareness about the common problems young people experience and how to deal with them.

Children's mental health charity YoungMinds said the "harrowing’ new figures were related to the impact of lockdowns and increasing pressures at school.

Olly Parker, of YoungMinds, said: "The pandemic has certainly deepened the crisis in young people’s mental health, with huge disruption to students’ education, many of whom were also dealing with multiple pressures like difficult home environments, bereavement and other trauma."

He said schools did not have the resources to support the wellbeing of their students, who had felt particularly worried about exams since returning to school.

The figures also showed that the number of children and young people across England who were still in touch with mental health services by the end of May topped 400,000 for the first time.

Of them, around 2,815 were in the Vale of York – up from 2,085 in the same month last year.

The Department for Health and Social Care said supporting children's mental health was a "major priority" and it invested £79 million in 2021-22 to expand services to support more than 22,000 children and young people.

A spokesperson added it was expanding mental health support teams to cover 3 million pupils by 2024 and was increasing investment in services by at least £2.3 billion per year by 2024.