THE number of young people and families in Oxfordshire who were referred to mental health services in the county rose by 12.1 per cent in a year.

The Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board‘s (OSCB) yearly report showed 4,224 people were referred to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) between March 2013 and March 2014, up from 3,768 in 2012/13.

Of those, 3,167 went on to receive a mental health service, a rise from 2,996 in the previous year.

CAMHS offers services like community psychiatric nurses who have a specialist knowledge of mental health and work directly with children and young people, and occupational therapists who use play and similar activities to help people deal with their problems.

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Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust spokesman Lorcan O’Neill said the county was following a national trend, and a national taskforce had been established to tackle the increase.

County council cabinet member for children, education and families Melinda Tilley said: “It is not necessarily that we have more people with people with mental health problems, it is that we are dealing with it better.

“This is especially the case in that critical period before they reach their teens.

“Mental health is something which is very important to me.”

Dr Mina Fazel, of Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry, said: “I think there is a great movement away from stigmas in mental illness. More and more people are aware of mental health problems and less fearful to seek help.

“We know that the risk factors that cause mental health problems are numerous.

“There are personal and social factors such as stressful life events like family discord, bulling and physical illness.

“With austerity we can see how some of those risks are increasing for children.”

The OSCB report was discussed yesterday at a meeting of Oxfordshire County Council’s performance and scrutiny committee.

It also revealed the number of children in care in Oxford rose to 463 at the end of March 2014, up from 416 in March 2013.

But the number of young people being remanded in custody fell to 4.5 per cent of the total number in Oxford, down from 8.5 per cent the previous year.

Some of the children CAMHS deal with have been referred because of self-harming.

The report said: “Self-harm by young people is an increasingly complex issue with concern that there is a rise in the number of cases.

“It is unclear what direct impact social media has on self-harm. The problem is often hidden, as young people can be worried about talking about it.”



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