256 teens report suicidal thoughts in just one month
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.
The month in question was November 2009.
The HSE West region, it emerged, was particularly bad. Numbers of young people who presented with these feelings in Limerick, alone, came to 22 across all services.
The same months saw 10 cases in Sligo, Leitrim, west Cavan, Mayo and Clare — all in the same HSE region.
In other parts of the country, there were 10 cases of young people with deliberate self-harm (DSH) and suicidal thoughts in Waterford, last November, while north Tipperary numbered eight.
According to the recently published CAMHS annual report, DSH or suicidal ideation was recorded as a reason for referral in 22% of new cases seen in a community setting. The figure increased to 27% when cases seen by the three Dublin paediatric hospitals were taken into account.
These behaviours have become a major public health concern and are increasing among young people, according to research.
A 2008 study of 4,583 adolescents in Ireland revealed a history of DSH in just over 9% of respondents.
This was in contrast to a large self-report survey of schools in England where a history of DSH was reported by 13.2% of respondents.
In response to the growing phenomenon, health professionals at Temple Street Hospital set up a consultant-led DSH team in 2002. The SPACE Programme was designed by the team as a support programme for parents and carers of children who have engaged in the behaviour.
Between 2002 and October 2008, the team assessed 458 young people aged 16 years and under.
A research paper published last year evaluating the programme revealed that 76% of parents of children presenting met the criteria for psychological distress.
“While this level of psychological distress may reflect parents’ reaction to their child’s self-harm, it is also possible that it reflects underlying parental psychiatric disorder and psychological distress which have been shown to be common in families of suicidal young people. Either way this psychological distress is likely to be perpetuated by the lack of support available to parents and carers of young people with DSH.”
The SPACE Programme was run twice in 2009.
