A new study has found that there was a significant increase in the number of children and young people admitted to acute medical wards for mental health conditions in England between 2012 and 2022.
Responding to the research, Dr Elaine Lockhart, Chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Child and Adolescent Faculty, said:
“This study’s data helps us understand the scale of the challenges affecting children and young people, as well as the factors driving these issues.
“We are deeply concerned that an increasing number of children and young people are experiencing significant mental ill-health and in need of treatment in inpatient settings. It’s right that some of these patients are cared for on paediatric wards which are working hard to manage rising demand. However, it’s also clear that far too many young people with mental illness are receiving care in a setting that is not best placed to meet their needs.
“Many patients, particularly those with neurodevelopmental conditions, find paediatric wards overwhelming and this can hinder their recovery. It’s simply unacceptable that vulnerable children are being forced to stay in inappropriate wards for weeks and months at a time due to a lack of resources in specialist mental health services.
“Where children with mental illness are being treated in paediatric settings, it is crucial that action is taken to provide them with the best care possible, with staff appropriately trained and supported by onsite mental health teams. We wholeheartedly support calls to increase the availability of mental health staff, such as liaison psychiatrists, who can help care for young people. We also support calls for paediatric staff to be provided with additional training so that they are better equipped to meet their patient’s needs.”
For further information, please contact:
- Email: press@rcpsych.ac.uk
- Twitter: @rcpsych
- Out-of-hours contact number: 07860 755896