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Child mental health admissions to acute wards in England rise 65% in a decade | Mental health

In the UK, the number of children admitted to acute care wards due to serious mental health concerns has increased by 65% ​​in 10 years, with research revealing an alarming spike in girls self-harming in particular.

Doctors treat around 40,000 children with acute mental illness in general wards each year, up from around 24,000 a decade ago. This increase is six times the increase in child enrollment across all conditions (10.1%) over the same period.

The Guardian previously revealed that the number of children seeking help for mental health problems has soared, including those requiring emergency treatment after having to wait longer for regular NHS care. I made it. The COVID-19 pandemic, social inequality, austerity, and internet-related harms are among the many factors accelerating the crisis.

new research The paper, published in the Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal, reveals for the first time how the number of patients admitted to acute care wards due to clinical concerns about their mental health is increasing.

General acute wards are specialized wards designed to provide rapid assessment, treatment and care to patients. The ward acts as a bridge between the emergency department, general practitioners and other wards and is independent from specialist mental health wards such as the eating disorders ward.

Dr Lee Hudson from UCL, lead author of the study, said: “Over the past decade, we have observed a significant increase in mental health admissions of children and young people to acute care units.

“While there has been a lot of attention to the increase in referrals to community mental health services and inpatient mental health facilities, admissions to general acute care facilities feel like a missing piece of the jigsaw in this story. ”

Hudson said acute care units play a particularly important role in caring for children with co-occurring physical and mental health issues, such as hunger caused by eating disorders.

“However, the increase in intensity we describe poses real challenges for acute wards, both for patients and their families and for the staff who support them. The staff working there may need further training and support with relevant skills.”

Hudson and colleagues found that the number of mental health admissions of 5-18 year olds in acute care wards increased by 65% ​​from 24,198 in 2012/13 to 39,925 in 2021/22. I discovered it. According to the analysis, more than half (53.4%) of the cases were caused by self-harm.

By comparison, all-cause hospitalizations increased 10.1% during the same period, from 311,067 to 342,511.

Dr Karen Street, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the 65% rise was further evidence of an “alarming deterioration” in the mental health of children and young people.

The increase in mental health hospitalizations was particularly pronounced for girls aged 11 to 15, with the study finding a “rapid relative increase” in children aged 5 to 10 and “significant rates of self-harm among women”. is also emphasized.

The number of annual hospitalizations for eating disorders also increased from 478 to 2,938.

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Of the 239,541 children and young people admitted to hospital with a mental health problem between 2012/13 and 2021/22, 13.4% were readmitted to hospital within six months.

Hudson and his colleagues said they are trying to understand why more children are being admitted to acute care units for mental health reasons.

“However, the backdrop is a growing prevalence of mental health problems, perhaps an increase in the severity of individual cases, and an increase in hospital admissions where it is no longer safe for patients to go home and emergency admission to general wards is necessary. There may be an increase in hospital visits.”

analysis Hudson said that since 2012, hospitalizations have increased year over year, showing that the increase is not just due to the pandemic.

“This now appears to be a core issue for acute wards and will not go away, so it is essential that we focus on improving care.”

Claire Murdoch, head of Mental Health England, said the NHS was helping in record numbers by deploying hundreds of mental health teams to schools and providing 24/7 crisis support through 111. He said they had accommodated what they were asking, but in some cases hospitalization was in their best interest. They can receive “strong professional support” to reduce their risk of harm.

In the UK, the charities Mind are available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. Eating disorder charity Beat can be contacted on 0808-801-0677.

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