The study looked at all admissions of 5- to 18-year-olds to general acute care wards in England from 2012 to 2022.
Research shows the number of children admitted to acute care wards due to mental health concerns has increased by almost two-thirds over a decade.
The increase was particularly high for girls aged 11 to 15, with the analysis also highlighting a “rapid relative increase” in children aged 5 to 10 and “significant rates of self-harm among women”.
The researchers warned that the problem was “not going away” and suggested a focus on “improving care is essential”.
Experts also stressed that while the coronavirus pandemic lockdown had a “severe impact” on young people, it was not the “only factor” behind the rise in enrollments. .
The study, led by a team at UCL, analyzed data on all hospital admissions for five to 18-year-olds admitted to general acute care wards in England between 2012 and 2022.
These units assess and treat patients and are separate from specialized mental health units. Patients are usually referred to a general acute unit from the emergency department or from their GP or outpatient clinic.
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In 2021/22, approximately 342,511 patients aged five to 18 were admitted to hospital for any reason, of which 39,925 were due to mental health concerns.
The analysis found that more than half (53.4 percent) were caused by self-harm.
Researchers found that between 2012 and 2022, the number of annual hospitalizations for mental health concerns increased by 65%, from 24,198 to 39,925.
Dr Lee Hudson, from UCL Great Ormond Street Child Health Institute and Great Ormond Street Hospital, said:
“While there has been a lot of attention to the increase in referrals to community mental health services and inpatient mental health facilities, admissions to general acute care facilities feel like a missing piece of the jigsaw in this story. ”
The increase in enrollment was “particularly rapid” among girls aged 11 to 15, who increased by 112.8 per cent from 9,901 to 19,349, researchers said.
The researchers also noted a “relatively sharp increase” in hospital admissions for children aged 5 to 10, and “significant rates of self-harm among women.”
They added: “Although absolute numbers are still low, this finding highlights the burden of mental health concerns among children in this preadolescent age group.”
“Increase in strength”
Hospitalizations for eating disorders also increased, jumping from 478 to 2,938.
Of the 239,541 children and young people admitted to hospital for mental health problems between 2012 and 2022, around 13.4 per cent were readmitted to hospital within six months.
Mr Hudson warned that an “intensification” of hospital admissions was posing challenges for patients and staff in acute wards.
“Acute wards are important places to care for young people with mental health concerns, particularly those with co-occurring physical health problems such as hunger due to eating disorders,” he said.
“However, the increase in intensity we describe is creating real challenges for acute wards, both for patients and their families and for the staff who support them.
“The ward environment may not be suitable for this care and the staff working there may need further training and support with relevant skills.
“This includes providing physical and mental health care across hospital and community teams, for example, the appropriate provision of psychiatrists and mental health trained nurses to support physical care on actual wards. We need better collaboration between health professionals.”
On June 22, 2017, 200 brightly colored umbrellas were hung in Church Alley in Liverpool, England, part of an art installation called The Umbrella Project to raise awareness of ADHD and autism in children. Young children holding umbrellas and dancing at the launch. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
lockdown
Researchers said the findings, published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, show that pandemic-era lockdowns are not the only reason for the numbers.
Hudson added: “On a larger level, we are all currently trying to grapple with and understand why more and more young people are struggling with mental health, and there are probably mental health issues in the background. “Problems are becoming more prevalent and perhaps the severity of mental health is increasing,” he added. There is an increase in individual cases and an increase in hospital visits requiring emergency admission to general wards as it is not safe for patients to go home.
“Since 2012, the number of hospitalizations has increased year-on-year, and our findings also show that these increases are not solely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This now appears to be a core issue for acute wards and will not go away, so it is essential that we focus on improving care.”
Reacting to the study, Dr Karen Street, Mental Health Officer at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: Young people. ”
She also called for more efforts to understand the causes of the rise in mental health hospitalizations.
“We know that the pandemic is having a significant impact on children and young people,” Mr Street added.
“However, rates of worsening mental health in this cohort were also reported in 2012, indicating that COVID-19 is not the only contributing factor.
“To truly design services that serve our nation’s young people, we need to do more to find and understand the core drivers of this unprecedented increase.”
Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s national director of mental health, said: ‘The treatment and recognition of mental health conditions has improved significantly over the past decade, but this has also come at a time when health services are treating record numbers of patients. “This means that we are not only dealing with the current situation, but we are also dealing with new issues such as negative impacts.” The pressure social media places on young people’s body image.
“The NHS has responded by deploying hundreds of mental health teams in schools and setting up 111 24/7 crisis support for all age groups to make it easier for people to access support. However, in some cases hospitalization may be in a person’s best interests.” In doing so, they receive strong professional support and reduce their risk of harm. ”
