HEALTH chiefs have admitted more needs to be done to address the mental health problems of children and young people in North Yorkshire.

They have linked the economic crisis to an increase in new mental health patients over the last four years, because of the strain it has put on families across the region. Teams who cover the Ryedale, Scarborough and Whitby area are dealing with as many as 40 new referrals every month.

An additional consultant psychiatrist is now being recruited by the NHS for the area and new out-of-hours arrangements are being developed to improve the support available for children and teenagers. A telephone on-call service will also be set up to help professionals working with young people who need help in the evenings and on weekends, while plans have been approved for a £1.3 million community base for child and adolescent mental health services in Scarborough.

“Poverty and social exclusion are known factors in causing mental health problems, and the issues can be even more pronounced in rural areas where there is a greater feeling of isolation,” said Jackie Ennis, head of mental health services for children and young people in North Yorkshire.

“Some of the most deprived communities are along the coastal areas, so we have decided to strengthen the provision of services to help deal with the problems of mental health in children and young people. But we do need to see further improvements as we still recognise there are gaps in the provision.”