THE number of Southampton children needing therapy has soared since the start of the pandemic.
Data from NHS England shows that 20,815 mental health treatment sessions were delivered to under-18s by NHS services in the Southampton CCG area between April last year and January this year.
This is 12.2 per cent more than in the same period 12 months before.
The figures have been met with concern from Southampton MPs who say that this will "no doubt" put more pressure on "stretched" mental health teams across the city.
The trend is reflected across England where the number of sessions delivered increased by 16.1 per cent to around 4 million.