12.03.14
More children treated on adult mental health wards
The number of children suffering from mental illnesses being treated on adult wards is increasing, according to data released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).
Although a full year of data for 2013-14 has not been collected yet, provisional data for April 2013 to November 2013 revealed that 250 people under the age of 18 were recorded as spending time in adult mental health wards.This was higher than the number of young people (219) who spent time in adult health wards during the whole of 2012-13. However, it wasn’t as high as the 357 cases recorded in 2011-12.
The number of times people under the age of 18 were recorded as being admitted to adult mental health ward, during the April-November period, stood at 303 – again higher than the 236 in 2012-13 but lower than the 440 cases in 2011-12.
The total number of bed days, so far, for under-18s being on adult wards stands at10,424, lower than the 11,791 bed days in 2012-13 and the 21,980 bed days in 2011-12 – but there is still time for this year’s figure to surpass last year’s total.
HSCIC said: “The figures for people and admissions is already higher than the annual figures for 2012-13 even though they only cover the first eight months of 2013-14 and the figure for bed days is close to the level in 2012-13.”
A number of mental health charities claim that inpatient provision for young people has suffered in light of financial cuts to the number of hospital beds available, and the latest HSCIC figures emphasise this.
In a comment to NHE, Jenny Edwards, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: “These figures show that we are currently failing vulnerable young people who are already in an extreme state of distress and MPs should call ministers to account.
“The Department of Health and NHS England must take urgent action and put this at the top of their agenda.”
England's Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, is among those calling for greater focus on mental health services for children, including a new survey to look at the extent of the problem.
Last week she told MPs: “We don't have enough data on mental health problems in children - the last survey was in 2004. Not only were we a decade out of date, but actually people tell us that self-harm is going up and anxiety and depression and other stresses, so it is important to have that survey.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below or email [email protected]