Last March, Councillors were concerned by the figures in a presentation on Under-18 Mental Health Hospital Admissions. The figures for Children and Young People where mental health issues were a primary cause, showed a statistically significant rise between 2015/16 and projections for 2017/18.
Moreover, there was a steady rise in inappropriate admissions to acute hospitals – as distinct from specialist mental health hospitals where more appropriate care and treatment are available.
Councillors heard that no single factor seemed to explain why increasing numbers of young people were being admitted to hospital with mental illness problems.
Factors that did appear related to these increases were:
One serious problem emerged, namely that 50% of emergency admissions to acute hospitals remain unknown to the mental health care and treatment system.
Councillors suggested:
Nick Hollinghurst commented “I believe we are letting our young people down. In a world of ever greater stress and uncertainty, with growing inequality and with young people under so much pressure to compete, it’s not surprising that more of them are being damaged.
“Now free from restraints of having to work in a coalition, the Tory Government has cut public services thoughtlessly and recklessly.
“From policing to public health, from schools to social services, from youth services to Family Centres to psychological services, the safety nets of our society are being allowed to fray and tear.
Social networks are being broken down by a state which has lost sight of its duty of care towards its citizens.”
He continued, “We need to rebuild and we need to do it fast. We must find a way to tap into the vast wealth of the mega corporations and into the grotesque pay packets of the super rich to repair our institutions and our social infrastructure.
“We must get back to a society which cares for its young, which helps the unfortunate back to their feet and which seeks to give a sure start in life to children and adolescents – by preventing early years trauma, helping those that need help and bringing all safely through to adulthood able to enjoy life and bring up the next generation in their turn.”