Read: Addressing the demand for mental health support is key to effective levelling up

While the pandemic seems at last to be receding, another crisis is threatening to engulf our health services. As we learn to live with the virus itself, we now also need to address one of its most damaging legacies - the growing number of those experiencing mental health issues.

With estimates showing that ten million people in England, including one and a half million children and teenagers, will need new or additional support for their mental health over the next three to five years, health leaders have highlighted their concerns about what they are referring to as a second pandemic.

The NHS Confederation and the Royal College of Psychiatrists have said that there are already 1.6 million people waiting for specialised treatment. That’s one in 35 people - or the rough equivalent of the combined populations of Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield. They are suffering from depression – numbers for which doubled during the pandemic – but also from anxiety, psychosis and eating disorders. There are a further eight million people who would benefit from support but can’t even get on the waiting list.

One of the most shocking aspects of this growing crisis is that it is reflected in children’s mental health. Although there has been a 20% cut in dedicated beds for children and young people with mental health problems over the last five years, there has been an unprecedented 52% rise in emergency referrals for under-18s to mental health crisis care in the last two years. Over a recent 12-month period, there was a 72% increase in children and teenagers referred for urgent support for eating disorders.

These huge numbers are ominous - for our health services and its mental health professionals who risk being overwhelmed by the growing demand, or for those seeking help, many of whom will descend into crisis while waiting for the appropriate support. That can have a devastating impact on individuals, their families, their communities and, of course, on already pressurised healthcare resources.

This month saw the publication of the Government’s NHS Elective Recovery Plan which sets out how it plans to reduce the waiting list for planned surgical procedures, with £5.9 billion allocated for that purpose in last year’s Spending Review. However, there was no funding specifically identified to tackle the waiting list for mental health services and health professionals are now calling for a similar plan which will comprehensively address the problem across all life stages.

They are urging a range of solutions – ensuring every pupil at school is covered by a mental health support team; modernising buildings and equipment to provide specialist mental health care;  providing greater support for primary care services to treat those who are not unwell enough to require secondary care; and identifying ways to encourage people to come forward and access support for their mental health locally, in recognition that many disadvantaged groups do not always feel comfortable doing so.

The country’s response to the first pandemic demonstrated that working together makes it easier to deliver solutions. We found ways to support each other practically and emotionally. We introduced ways of working to keep schools, universities and businesses going. We also developed new initiatives to allow people to talk about their experiences, to ask for help and find ways to improve resilience.

The purpose-led organisations working with the Purpose Coalition have been leading the way, recognising the benefits that will come from charting a meaningful course which delivers positive impact, and which ensures that their employees and communities are as happy and as productive as possible. They include organisations like the Premier League which sees enhanced mental as well as physical wellbeing, particularly of children and young people, as a focus of its community strategy. Its programmes - Premier League Primary Stars, Premier League Inspires and Premier League Kicks - provide them with sporting, educational and employment opportunities which support the development of the personal skills and positive relationships that will help them reach their full potential.

Higher education institutions have also responded to the increased need for mental health support as a result of the pandemic - universities like Staffordshire University which has introduced You Can, an initiative to get students, staff, friends and family talking about mental health and Solent University whose Therapy and Mental Health Team introduced its own radical Single Session Therapy model, resulting in a 68% increase in students accessing the service and a 62% decrease in waiting times.

Employers like Virgin Money have also led the way in addressing mental health for their own staff, viewing their wellbeing not just as a sticking plaster for ad hoc problems but woven through everything they do and essential for business success. Those experiencing problems are signposted to access online counselling support, enabling users to chat in real-time to an expert rather than over the phone. Its Early Intervention Initiative, provided through Virgin Money's group income protection insurers, can also help with mental health issues.  A referral submitted by the HR team can give staff members an initial assessment to see which support is available to them whether they are currently at work or at home.

There will be a high price to pay if, as a country, we fail to address this unhappy legacy. People with poor mental health will be much less likely to access opportunity and, as a result, will not be able to fulfil their potential. Communities will struggle to flourish. The economic and social cost to the country, in terms of lost productivity as well as the increased need for health support, will be vast and the levelling up agenda will be badly – if not irretrievably – damaged.

Seema Kennedy OBE, Levelling Up Goals Co-Chair; former Minister for Public Health, Home Office Minister, and the Prime Minister's Parliamentary Private Secretary