Children in care ‘up to 5 times more likely to suffer mental health issues’

Children in State care are up to five times more likely to suffer from mental health issues than their peers, a leading psychiatrist has claimed.

Fiona McNicholas, professor of child psychiatry at University College Dublin, also said the mental health issues became more obvious the longer a child remained in State care.

Prof McNicholas, one of the key speakers at today’s National Healthcare Conference in Dublin, is a keen supporter of the Children’s Bill, which is set to change the culture of child protection in Ireland.

The 31st Amendment of the Constitution (Children), which expressly recognises children in their own right, also strengthens protection of children under the Constitution. A referendum on the issue takes place on Nov 10.

Prof McNicholas believes the children’s rights amendment will be a vital step forward in allowing medical practitioners and commu-nity carers to address the mental health rights of children in care, especially those being considered for adoption or fostering.

“People sometimes forget that every child also has a right to good mental health and that the presence of a secure and loving family is a vital component within this,” she said.

Prof McNicholas, a consultant at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Dublin, said that in cases of adoption or fostering, mental health practitioners, in conjunction with their community care colleagues, would be able to steer the authorities towards decisions that would be in the best interests of children.

She said that before, those engaged to help children had been hamstrung by the prevailing rights of the birth parents to intervene at regular intervals in their child’s lives, however detrimental this was for the child.

Clinical psychologist at Imagine Health and Fresh Start, Dr Aidan McKiernan, said while some young people required specialist help, others benefited from online forums, such as those provided by youth charities like SpunOut and the ISPCC.

He said mental health issues represented 9% of all calls to the ISPCC’s Childline service in 2011 but that twice as many online messages related to the same kind of issue.

“What this shows is that younger people are sometimes more likely to relate their problems online compared with more traditional means,” he said.