THOUSANDS of children and young people have been in contact with mental health services in Dorset over the last year, new figures show.

Children's mental health charity YoungMinds said the figures are "harrowing", especially as students receive grades for A-level and GCSE exams.

The charity said increasing pressure at school and the impact of lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic has affected young people's mental health, leading to a huge number of children needing support.

NHS Digital figures show 6,220 children and young people had at least one contact with mental health services in the NHS Dorset CCG area in the 12 months to May.

Though this was up from 6,160 in April, it was a 3 per cent drop from 6,380 in July last year, when local figures were first recorded.

The figures also show that 3,680 children and young people in Dorset were still in touch with mental health services by the end of May up from 3,620 in the same month last year.

Olly Parker, head of external affairs at YoungMinds, said: "The pandemic has certainly deepened the crisis in young people's mental health, with huge disruption to students' education, many of whom were also dealing with multiple pressures like difficult home environments, bereavement and other trauma."

Mr Parker also said schools do not have the resources to support the wellbeing of their students, who have felt particularly worried about exams since returning to school following the pandemic.

The Department for Health and Social Care said supporting children's mental health is a "major priority" and that it invested £79 million in 2021-22 to expand services to support more than 22,000 children and young people.

A spokesperson added it is expanding mental health support teams to cover 3 million pupils by 2024 and is increasing investment in services by at least £2.3 billion per year by 2024.

In Dorset, some 3,875 children were waiting to be seen at the end of May after being referred by a GP or other health professional.

Mr Parker said: "The reality is that month after month we are seeing devastating new records of young people struggling to get treatment and support for their mental health, and month after month, we are left waiting for the Government to take action and end this intensifying crisis."

He said the Government must urgently equip the NHS to deal with rising mental health pressures and deliver a mental health plan that has a "real focus on young people".