256 teens report suicidal thoughts in just one month

HUNDREDS of young people who accessed community or hospital services over a specific one-month period were thinking about taking their own lives or had self-harmed, official figures have revealed.

HSE audit documents from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) show suicidal thoughts or deliberate self-harm were named as reasons for presentation in 256 new or re-referred cases in a one-month snap-shot of all child and adolescent services.

An analysis of the documents, released under the Freedom of Information Act, shows that many services saw at least four such cases in one month, while others were much higher, in some places reaching up to ten cases in one month.