Number of children admitted to adult wards for mental health treatment falls

The number of children admitted to adult wards for mental health treatment in Scotland is continuing to fall, a monitoring body has said.

According to a new report by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (MWCS), there were 67 admissions involving 59 young people to non-specialist – usually adult – wards between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024.

This compares with 79 admissions involving 66 young people the year before, and 207 admissions involving 175 young people in 2014-15.

The majority of the 23-24 admissions to non-specialist wards were for a week or less, but 40% of those admitted remained there for more than a week, and 12% remained there for more than five weeks.

The report also breaks down admissions by gender, and shows that 66% of children and young people admitted to non-specialist wards in 23-24 were female – a lower proportion than the year before, but still up on the figure for 2015-16.

Dr Arun Chopra, medical director at MWCS, said: “While overall numbers of admissions to non-specialist wards are much lower than a decade ago, and this is something we welcome, we are also aware that specialist provision in non-age-appropriate admissions remains patchy across the country.

“Sometimes it can be appropriate for a young person to be admitted to a non-specialist ward, but this should only happen in rare situations.

“For the vast majority of young people, being cared for in a unit designed for their age group, not for adults, should be the norm.

“We are aware of the work taking place regionally and locally to develop services in line with the national Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service specification.

“We expect that some of this work should have a direct impact on both inpatient demand and service provision for children and young people with mental health difficulties in the future.”

The Code of Practice to the Mental Health Act states that children and young people should only be admitted to non-specialist wards “in exceptional circumstances”.

The MWCS report states that when admitting a child or young person to a non-specialist ward cannot be avoided, “every effort” should be made to provide for their needs, and the admission should be “for as short a time as possible”.

The MWCS is the body responsible for monitoring the use of the Mental Health Act in Scotland.

Each year it produces a report that indicates the number of children and young people admitted to non-specialist wards for treatment of their mental health difficulties and provides an overview of their care and treatment.

Help and support is available now if you need it. Details of services available can be found at stv.tv/advice

When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visitwww.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.