Teenage Addicts Sent To Adult Psychiatric Wards

More than 200 teenage drug and alcohol abusers are being sent to adult psychiatric wards every year rather than units with facilities for adolescents, figures revealed yesterday. Ministers admitted there were 206 people aged 12-20 with drug and alcohol problems in wards for adults in 2004-05, the latest year for which there are figures.

Only 29 youngsters were given treatment in wards that specifically cater for children or teenagers. The Scottish Executive insisted the young people concerned were sent to adult wards for clinical reasons. However, SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson, who obtained the figures in a parliamentary answer, said sending youngsters to adult wards was “a completely inappropriate and dysfunctional response by the health service to a serious problem”.

The executive, in its statement defending the policy, also referred to a plan to reduce child admissions to adult wards by 50% in two years. The Herald earlier this month revealed that four out of five teenagers with psychosis were being admitted to adult wards. Research showed that was because of bed shortages, not clinical decisions.

The 206 young people comprised 58 being treated for problems with alcohol and 148 who were abusing drugs. Figures have gone up in recent years for young people admitted for alcohol problems and decreased for those who struggle with drugs. The overall figure has held above 200 since 2000-01.

Mr Stevenson, SNP deputy justice spokesman, said: “The number of children and young people being treated for alcohol and drug misuse in adult psychiatric units in Scotland is frankly alarming. “How can we realistically expect children and young people to be rehabilitated in an adult psychiatric unit? Alcohol and drug misuse among young people is a matter of growing concern in Scotland which cannot be ignored.

“We need the resources to tackle this issue by treating these young people in a suitable, positive and supportive environment. This cannot be provided by an institution designed to treat adults with psychiatric conditions. The executive is clearly failing to respond to the specific needs of vulnerable children in Scotland.”

A spokeswoman for the executive said: “These are clinical decisions. Professional opinion will have considered these adult wards would provide the best treatment available to adolescents with these particular problems to allow them to get the help they need.

“We would expect any adolescent admitted to an adult psychiatric ward with alcohol and drug-related problems to be treated sensitively and there is general guidance available to advise professionals on the care and treatment of children and young people. We are aiming to improve mental health services for children and adolescents and we recently published a delivery plan with timescales on how this will be achieved. We have made a commitment to reduce the number of admissions of children and young people to adult beds.”

The figures obtained by Mr Stevenson underline growing concerns over underage drinking and its effects on the mental health of young people. Doctors in recent years have also stressed the dangers of young people developing schizophrenia through early exposure to cannabis. The younger the abuser, they say, the greater the risk to mental health.

Meanwhile, other government figures show Scotland’s youngsters are more than aware of the damage wrought by binge-drinking. One in four of 18 to 24-year-old women feel they have put their safety at risk by walking home alone after a night out, according to a poll. One in five (21%) 18 to 24-year-old men say they have injured themselves by acting recklessly after drinking.