Figures obtained by the M.E.N. show at least 67 boys and girls aged 16 and 17 have been placed in adult beds since April 2011.
Dozens of vulnerable children are being placed on adult mental health wards in Greater Manchester due to a shortage of beds. Figures obtained by the M.E.N. show that at least 67 boys and girls aged 16 and 17 have been placed in adult beds since April 2011. The figures, obtained under freedom of information laws, show the number of cases are increasing. Britain’s leading children’s mental health charity has called for urgent action to end the practice.
National guidelines say it is not appropriate to place vulnerable children on adult wards. The news comes after the M.E.N. revealed how hundreds of acutely-ill adult patients are being sent to private clinics up to 260 miles from Manchester due to a bed shortage. Lucie Russell, director of campaigns and media at children’s mental health charity YoungMinds, said: “It’s totally unacceptable that the numbers of children being treated on adult wards is on the increase.
“The legislation clearly states that an adult mental health ward is not an appropriate setting for vulnerable children with mental health problems. “Urgent action must be taken to ensure that the worrying increase in children on adult wards is halted and that both early intervention and crisis services improve.”
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Filed under: Mental Health, NHS, mental health
