Yahoo Finance Evening Standard Comment: Pandemic is pushing children into crisis | Checkpoint Chigwell | Well done, London
The next pandemic may already be upon us. An Evening Standard investigation has revealed a surge in mental health cases among the young.
Half a million under-18s, who had no diagnosable mental health problem prior to the pandemic, will require mental health care as a result of the economic, health and family impact caused by Covid-19.
And data from NHS Digital shows that diagnoses of “probable mental disorder” among children, having held steady at 10 per cent for a decade, has risen to 17 per cent in 2020.
This means more eating disorders, self-harm and suicidal thoughts, with headteachers warning that “the worst is yet to come”. More pressure will inevitably fall on our care system, with waiting lists stretching out months.
We may be out of lockdown by the spring, but the economic, emotional and health consequences of Covid-19 will stay with us far longer. It is vital we catch this early. The Government must invest more resources into child and adolescent mental health outpatient services.
The 2012 Health and Social Care Act should have created “parity of esteem” between mental and physical health by 2020. It has not.
Last June, the Government invested £9 million in mental health charities to help them reach those most in need alongside a £27 million boost for the charity Think Ahead. And it has committed to a further £2.3 billion in mental health each year as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.
But much more needs to be done. As President-elect Joe Biden likes to say, “Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value”.
Checkpoint Chigwell
The Minister for London has dubbed it “Checkpoint Chigwell” — the planned Greater London boundary charge could now rise up to £5.50 for more polluting vehicles as part of a range of measures to plug TfL’s financial black hole.
It is not just motorists who are set to be raided. There are also proposals for Canary Wharf station to be moved into Zone 1, which could raise an additional £25 million a year.
Bankers commuting into the financial district may receive little sympathy, but there are hundreds of thousands of residents in Tower Hamlets, with one of the highest rates of child poverty in the UK, who can ill afford such a fare hike.
We recognise the pandemic-induced financial constraints under which TfL is operating and support the aim of decarbonising London’s transport network. That means not just price rises, but getting to grips with failing train operators and ramping up electric charging infrastructure.
We cannot yet fully grapple with the long-term impact of the pandemic on the way in which we live, work and travel. But Londoners will still need to get around and for that, they will require a world-class transport network.
Well done, London
Well done, Londoners. A glimmer of light amidst the dark pandemic January days — Covid-19 cases have fallen across 22 London boroughs.
East London, the hardest-hit part of the capital, is among the areas seeing reduced case numbers. In spite of carping from ministers, you have stayed at home, having missed out on a proper Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
You have taken the hit mentally and your businesses have been hugely disrupted but because of you the NHS will not be overwhelmed, you are saving lives. It’s far from over, but you can be proud that you knuckled down and locked in during these rain-drenched days.
Read More
Children’s mental health: The hidden crisis of Covid-19 laid bare
Children pushed over the edge by lockdown trauma
‘Chatting online is such poor substitute for seeing each other’
