Majority of children treated 'out of area' for mental health emergencies
Neil Puffett
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Seven out of 10 children and young people with severe mental health problems were admitted to hospitals outside of their areas last year, it has emerged.
Figures obtained by the British Medical Association (BMA) from NHS England under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that 69 per cent of child and adolescent admissions were classed "out of area" in 2016/17, up from 57 per cent the previous year.
The BMA has described the figures as "alarming", pointing to the fact that the NHS has said it intends to eradicate all inappropriate out of area admissions for children and young people by 2021.
BMA said analysis of the figures suggests that 3,817 young people were admitted for emergency healthcare in 2016/17, compared with 4,485 in 2015/16.
Gary Wannan, chair of the BMA committee on community care, said: "These figures show, alarmingly, that well over half of patients are being placed out of area at a time when they are at their most vulnerable.
"It can be an incredible wrench for children to leave their homes and being based far away is not going to help a young person in crisis."
The figures also indicate wide variations in access to CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health service) beds for inpatient services across England.
The number of patients admitted to beds out of their area more than doubled in South West England, and rose by 92 per cent in Yorkshire and Humber but fell by 88 per cent in the East of England.
Peter Holden, regional chair of the BMA's East Midlands council, where out of area bed use rose 29 per cent, said one of his CAMHS patients had to travel three hours from Derbyshire for expert care.
"It can be one of the problems in very rural regions like ours," he said.
"We need to have an honest conversation about this.
"Should we increase funding so patients can be treated closer to home or have the guts to admit they and their families will have to travel long distances for specialist care?"
Young Minds chief executive Sarah Brennan said improvements to inpatient and community care are crucial.
"For young people who are hospitalised, being separated from loved ones doesn't help with recovery and makes a frightening situation even worse," she said.
"It's also extremely distressing for parents who can't easily visit their child because of long travel distances."
CYP Now is staging a conference on children's mental health Transforming Child Mental Health: Co-Production, Innovation and Impact on 13 July. Speakers include Kathryn Pugh, programme lead for children and young people's mental health at NHS England, and Natasha Devon, mental health campaigner and co-founder of Self-Esteem Team.
