The NHS Trust in charge of mental health services in the borough has seen a "huge increase in demand" among children and young people.

Pennine Care NHS Trust, which runs Bury CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health service), says one in six children had a probable mental health disorder in 2020, rising from one in nine in 2017.

Referrals to CAMHS have increased significantly over the over the past five years with certain conditions seeing hundreds more patients.

From the period of 2019-2020 the number of children seeking help for anxiety increased from just 26 to 158 in the following year.

In the period 2020-2022, 386 children were referred to CAMHS with anxiety issues.

The number of referrals for self-harm, specifically cutting, among children also increased dramatically over the last three years with 114 children referred in the period 2021-2022.

In 2019-2020, the number of children referred to the service for cutting self-harm was just three.

CAMHS provides services for children up to the age of 16.

Other conditions which saw a significant increase in the number of referrals over the last five years includes ADHD, which increase from 11 referrals in 2017-2018 to 416 in 2021-2022.

In 2020-2021, 184 children were referred to CAMHS for ADHD.

Alongside an increase in the number of referrals to CAMHS, the service also saw an increase in the number of weeks children waited for an initial appointment.

In 2017-2018, young people waited an average of 5.9 weeks for an appointment at CAMHS which increased to 13.1 weeks in 2021-2022.

Sarah Leah, associate director of operations for children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, which runs CAMHS services in Bury, said: “There has been a huge increase in demand for children and young people’s mental health services; and more young people than ever require support.

“In 2017 one in nine children had a probable mental health disorder, in 2020 this increased to one in six.

“In Bury, we’ll soon be launching our young people’s mental health support team.

“We’ll work directly with schools to help children aged four to 18, who are experiencing low level emotional and behavioural difficulties.

“By intervening in mental health issues early, the aim is to help prevent problems escalating.

“We’ve also launched a new initiative called the navigator project, which supports children and their families when they leave our CAMHS services.

“We run this in partnership with Early Break and they help young people rebuild important foundations and connections with friends, family and the community – which is essential in their mental health journey.

For children in urgent need of care or in crisis we have our rapid response teams who provide intensive support to young people.

“Our mental health helpline is also available to any young person or family who think they need help. We’ll also be using new funding to help us develop new services, continue to drive recruitment and work in close partnership with other local agencies to support children and young people with mental health difficulties in Bury.”

If you are in need of support, Pennine Care NHS Trust's 27/7 mental health helpline is 0800 014 9995.

The trust provides contact information for a number of other helplines on its website. 

If you're struggling with your mental health or are in crisis, you can call Samaritans free of charge on 116 123 – they're available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.