Young people are often at a serious crisis point when detained in a PICU (Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit) setting. The point of a PICU is to manage the risks and crises that the person is facing. Usually at the point of entry into a mental health unit. It is unacceptable that 1 in 2 young people detained end up staying longer then 6 weeks.
1 in 4 stay for 3 months longer. 1 in 10 for 6 months or longer and 11 children stayed for over a year. A lot more needs to be done to invest in providing expert and necessary care. Particularly for young people who face a crisis.
They need to be effectively treated and managed. Aiming to getting them out of such an intensive setting and into wards where they can be treated. Reintegrated in the best manner for their own mental state.
I often advocate for increasing more money in community services and alongside this, more needs to be done to continue having conversations about mental health in homes and schools so that young people don’t have to access the PICU service.
But if they do need to, we need to ensure that they get the best care possible and make sure that this is achieved within 6 weeks and no young person should ever have to spend more time in a PICU environment beyond this.
#childrensmentalhealth #healthy #physical #mentalhealth #awareness
For more information please see the original article here: https://news.sky.com/story/teens-in-temporary-mental-health-units-for-more-than-a-year-11657647
This article does not constitute legal advice and you should contact us directly if you are facing a similar situation.
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