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Antrim and Newtownabbey has the highest number of referrals to children’s mental health services in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, board members have been told.

Speaking at a meeting of the board on Thursday, Ciara McKillop, assistant director of Child Health, Development and Emotional Health and Well-being Services, told members that one in eight children and young people in the Northern Trust area has an emotional disorder such as anxiety or depression which is 25 per cent higher than in England.

One in six children and young people in the Northern Trust has an eating disorder.

In July, there were 689 children on the waiting list with the Trust receiving referrals at a rate of 112 per month.

Stark reality of Newtownabbey teens’ mental health