CHILDREN with severe mental health conditions are being held on unsuitable hospital wards across south Cumbria.

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An average of one person under the age of 18 is being detained in the children’s acute ward in the absence of a dedicated place of safety in the area every month.

Bosses at the trust that runs Furness General Hospital in Barrow view the situation as the highest corporate risk available and have stated the situation is not ‘optimal’ for anyone involved.

But an absence of specialist tier four beds for children who need to be hospitalised with mental health conditions in the county means medical units are being used as a make shift measure.

This is despite a government white paper published in March stating children needing inpatient care should be offered facilities near to their communities in a bid to minimise stress and improve the chances of recovery.


Sue Smith Sue Smith, executive chief nurse at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, confirmed the organisation is working with health commissioners to assess current provision across Cumbria.

“Nationally there is a shortage of specialist mental health beds for children and young people with complex mental health needs which is why these children are being admitted to one of our acute children's wards,” she said.

“We are working closely with our commissioners and other providers to improve the current service provision in south Cumbria which will look at the needs of these children to ensure they are treated and receive the most appropriate care.”

The information came to light in papers presented to members of UHMBT’s board members just a month after the launch of the Evening Mail’s Healthy Young Minds campaign which aims to improve access to mental health help for children and teenagers who need it, as well as seeking fairer funding for this specialist area of healthcare.

The report stated a bed on UHMBT's children’s acute medical wards are used as a place of safety at least once a month - but that the care is ‘sub-optimal’ because staff have no specialist paediatric mental health training.

A spokesman for the Cumbria Commissioning Group - the organisation tasked with buying in health services on behalf of all residents across the county - said tier four mental health provision was commissioned directly by NHS England.

But she added a system-wide review of provision across Cumbria was underway.

“As you will know we have identified children and young people’s mental health as a priority and are committed to developing safe and sustainable alternatives to accommodate children and young people experiencing a mental health crisis.”

Just two weeks ago, the father of a self-harming Barrow teenager came forward to talk of the trauma faced by his family when his 16-year-old daughter was hospitalised in Lancaster for a total of 12 months.

In an emotional interview, he said: ““The fact there’s no tier four in this county is shocking.

“For a young kid going to Lancaster it is overwhelming.

“We were lucky to get her in there. Brighton and Middlesbrough were mentioned – the other side of Manchester and Cheshire also.”