Tag Archives: children
Children with mental illness admitted to adult wards amid bed shortage
Acutely ill children as young as 12 years old are being admitted to adult wards
By: Information Daily Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, February 20, 2014 – 09:51
Acutely ill children as young as 12 years old are being admitted to adult wards due to bed shortages at specialist child services, a Community Care/ BBC investigation has found.
350 minors were admitted to adult mental health wards in the first nine months of the period 2013/14, up from 242 in 2011/12, data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed.
Of these minors, 12 were aged under 16 and one was just 12 years old, a situation NHS England admits is “totally unacceptable in the majority of cases”.
The investigation also found that many children were being uprooted from their communities and sent to mental health wards up to 150 miles away from home. One child was sent a record 275 miles away, leaving their Sussex home to stay in Greater Manchester.
Review disabled children's support, says commissioner
The government said that spending on disability benefits was higher than the EU average
Ministers are being urged to review care provided for children with disabilities following research into the adequacy of support for families.
Children’s commissioner for England Maggie Atkinson called the findings “heart-rending” and “disturbing”.
The report suggested some families were unable to afford basic necessities for “a dignified life”.
The Department for Work and Pensions said the report contained “a small sample, presenting a partial picture”.
The study, carried out by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) for the children’s commissioner, found evidence that poverty meant some disabled children were not living lives that met international human rights standards.
Ms Atkinson said the research findings were “not an easy read”.
