The NHS hit a key target for child and adolescent mental health
services (Camhs) in England last year after figures showed no
under-16s were held in adult psychiatric wards in the final three
months of 2008.
This means trusts achieved the target, set in November 2006,
to stop placing under-16s on adult wards by November 2008,
and shows major progress from the first quarter of 2008, when there
were 133 “bed days” involving under-16s.
This subsequently fell to 16 days in April to June 2008, then
four days in the next quarter, before the target was met, according
to
figures published by the Department of Health in
a parliamentary answer.
NHS head says some under-16s may be in
adult wards
In January this year,
NHS Confederation Mental Health Network director
Steve Shrubb said it was possible some under-16s were still
being admitted to adult wards in “extreme extenuating
circumstances”.
But the DH said figures for the first three months of 2009 were
still being compiled, although they should be available soon.
The number of days spent by 16- and 17-year-olds in adult wards
during the final three months of 2008 fell to 2,918, down by more
than a quarter on the figure for July to September.
Age-appropriate treatment
Last year, the government placed a duty on mental health trusts
to ensure age-appropriate treatment for 16- and 17-year-olds on
adult wards by April 2010.
Under-18s spent almost 41,000 days on Camhs wards in the final
three months of 2008, compared with nearly 35,500 in the previous
quarter.
A DH spokesperson said: “A lot of progress has been made in
recent years in improving the psychological wellbeing of children
and young people - this has been partly due to the considerable
investment in mental health services.”
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