Self harm on the increase in UK

An article about self-harm increasing in Britain:

Self harm by children on increase

The number of children admitted to hospital due to self harm has risen by a third in five years, according to National Health Service figures.

There were 11,891 in 2002/3, and 15,955 in 2006/7. In both periods, there were more than three times as many admissions of girls than boys.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb, who requested the figures, said they were “shocking”.

He blamed a lack of specialist mental health treatment for children.

Gender differences

Admissions of children aged 10 to 18 following some kind of self harm rose by 34% between 2002 and 2007.

There was also an increase in children under 10 hurting themselves deliberately, from 157 to 169 admissions in the same period.

Triggers can be exam stress, bullying and feeling isolated and alone Sue Minto, ChildLine

Among under 10s committing self harm, boys outnumbered girls, unlike in older age groups.

In the 10 to 18-year-old category, there were 12,346 admissions of girls in 2006/7, compared with 3,440 boys.

In total, there were more than 70,000 admissions of young people to hospital for self-harm in the five year period.

Mr Lamb also requested NHS figures on the number of children admitted to hospital suffering from eating disorders.

The total figure was nearly 4,000, with cases having risen by nearly 10% in the five-year period.

‘Relieving distress’

Sue Minto, from ChildLine, said: “The rise in numbers of children and young people who have eating disorders or are self-harming is deeply worrying.

“Young people with eating problems or those who are self-harming are often trying to cope with other problems. Triggers can be exam stress, bullying and feeling isolated and alone with no one to talk to.

“Self-harm can be an attempt to relieve distress.”

Many children are languishing on long waiting lists or not getting treatment that meets their specific needs Norman Lamb Lib Dem health spokesman

The forms of self harm recorded by hospitals included drugs overdoses, attempted hanging and deliberate injury with a sharp object such as a knife.

Mr Lamb said: “These shocking figures are just the tip of the iceberg as most young people suffering from these illnesses will never make it to hospital.

“The underlying problem is the lack of specialist mental health treatment.

“The government has allowed child and adolescent mental health services to suffer drastic cuts over recent years. This means that many children are languishing on long waiting lists or not getting treatment that meets their specific needs.”

Mr Lamb requested the figures in a written parliamentary question.

A spokesman for the Department of Health denied that the government was not doing enough.

He said: “We are fully committed to improving Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and the actual reported spend on CAMHS has increased from £322m in 2003/4 to £461m in 2005/6.”

The spokesman also said that the majority of children did not have to wait more than four weeks for mental health care.

“As a matter of fact, services in some Special Health Authorities were able to respond to demand for hospital care quickly and lengthy waits of over six months were very rare.”

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/7379901.stm