Alarming rise in number of children in emergency with mental health problems

RISING numbers of children with mental health issues are ending up in hospital emergency departments, with experts warning it is a sign that prevention and treatment in the community is failing.

Growing numbers of children are attending emergency departments with mental health problems.

THE number of children aged 10 to 19 turning up to Victorian emergency departments with mental health prob­lems has ­increased dramatically.

Experts warn it’s a sign prevention and treatment in the community is failing and these children are like “canaries in the coalmine”.

Children with mental health problems were more likely to be triaged as urgent, be admitted to hospital and present after hours than those with physical problems.

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The number of children presenting with mental health problems to the Royal Children's Hospital Emergency department is increasing.

They place a larger burden on ED resources than patients with physical illness or injuries.

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s lead author, Professor Harriet Hiscock, said mental health presentations increased 46 per cent between 2008 and 2015.

“Mental health presentations have tripled compared to physical health presentations,” Prof Hiscock said.

The most common reasons were intentional self-harm and psychoactive substance use.

Prof Hiscock said she was concerned about the rise in children presenting with anxiety, depression and behavioural problems to EDs, which was not the best place for their care.

While factors driving this trend were not studied in this paper, she said some parents didn’t realise their child’s physical problems stemmed from a mental health issue.

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“There are also parents who have tried to get into services in the community and the waiting lists are too long or they haven’t been able to afford to pay the out-of-pocket cost,” Prof Hiscock said.

In a separate editorial, Professor Susan Sawyer and Professor George Patton from the MCRI and RCH said this data should be seen as “canaries in a coalmine”.

“Despite major investments in the mental health service system, it is failing to provide alternatives to emergency departments for adolescents in crisis,” they wrote in the Medical Journal of Australia.

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