CHILDREN with mental health conditions are being forced to wait on hospital wards for weeks because of a desperate shortage of specialist beds across the country.
Last year, 29 under 18s suffering from eating disorders, depression, anxiety or alcohol induced psychosis were admitted to Furness General Hospital – up from 22 in 2015.
But an investigation by the Evening Mail reveals fewer than five of the children received any medical treatment while at the Dalton Lane hospital in Barrow.
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Instead, they were admitted to the wards as a place of safety – while others were kept as inpatients while experts attempted to secure a bed on a specialist Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services unit anywhere in the country – which can include London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and the North East.
A spokesman from NHS England North, the organisation responsible for commissioning care for children with severe mental health conditions – tier four units – said work was ongoing that would reduce the requirement for inpatient hospital beds in the long term.
“Where there is a requirement for a specialist mental health bed we work closely with NHS providers to give the right care, in the right place at the right time to suit each patient," the spokesman added.
“A national service review is currently taking place to re-model the current inpatient beds so over the next two years there is a shift to integrate these as part of a community CAMHS service pathway.
“This will support children being care for as close to home as possible and reduce demand on inpatient beds.”
There are around 1,300 beds in a number of units across the country – though none are in Cumbria.
But as the number of children with mental health issues rises, demand for these places is outstripping supply, leaving children stranded on hospital wards as they wait for a place to become free.
On four occasions last year, delays in finding an available bed meant children at FGH had to remain on a hospital ward for longer than the national guidelines allow.
There were also three breaches of these guidelines in 2014 and a further four during the previous 12 months.
While in hospital, the children are not receiving the specialist care they need to help them recover.
David Walker, medical director at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, said: "As an acute trust it is essential that we work together with our specialist mental health partner, Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
"Working together, we can ensure that patients, of any age, with mental health needs receive the best treatment available to them at that time by the appropriate health care professional.
“Partnerships with mental health organisations are a key priority for the trust and will be further developed in the future.”
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