Poor out-of-hours services fail vulnerable adolescents

A LACK of out-of-hours services means that some young people who might simply need a social worker are ending up in adult psychiatric units, a report has found.

This unfairly labels young people and may potentially lead to stigmatisation and discrimination.

Commissioned by the Mental Health Commission to explain why young people are being admitted to adult units and paediatric wards, the report also finds that deadlines to treat 16 and 17-year-olds by child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are “ambitious” and “unlikely to be met”.