The Supreme Audit Office has published a report that sends shivers down your spine. Children being strapped to their beds is not the worst part of it.
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The report is new, but its findings are reminiscent of past centuries. – In some regions of our country, I know it will sound harsh, but child and adolescent psychiatry really resembles the 19th century – comments Dr. Anna Lewandowska, national consultant in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry.
Children tied with belts lie in the corridors of Polish psychiatric hospitals. So-called direct coercion is used against them, violating the regulations. These are the findings of the Supreme Audit Office.
NIK looked at psychological care and the reform of child psychiatry implemented over four years ago. Conclusions: the reform is ineffective, the system is inefficient, and specialists cannot cope.
– The scale and severity of the problems reported by students, including suicidal thoughts and self-harm, constituted such a significant emotional burden for school psychologists that they ultimately contributed to their resignation from work – said Aneta Karska from the Supreme Audit Office.
There are children in psychiatric hospitals who should not be there at all.
Although new community centers are being established, although psychiatric services are provided in much greater numbers, the needs are constantly growing, and there is a shortage of places – also in psychiatric hospitals. NIK discovered that there are children in them who should not be there at all. In almost 100 percent of facilities, hospitalization was prolonged despite the lack of medical indications.
– In an extreme case, the stay of a young patient in a psychiatric ward was three months longer than his health condition required. His hospitalization lasted without interruption for over a year. (…) There were four such patients in the same hospital at the same time – informed Joanna Piasecka-Girguś from NIK.
Children stayed in hospitals because the court was slow to start proceedings, there were no beds in rehab centers, or their parents did not want to pick them up.
Self-aggression among children and adolescents. “This is a problem that we encounter more and more often at school”Adrianna Otręba/Fakty TVN
– We hospitalize a child who does not absolutely require hospitalization, and in the emergency room there is another child or teenager in crisis who, in turn, absolutely requires hospitalization – admits Dr. Anna Lewandowska.
The second leading cause of death among Polish teenagers is suicide. Last year, six young people attempted suicide every day.
– A crisis is composed of many factors and reacting at the moment, before these factors accumulate, is the key to avoiding a moment when a suicidal crisis develops – says Aleksandra Stube, psychologist from the Growspace Foundation.
Before a hospital and medications are needed, good relationships and a supportive family can be the cure.
Main image source: TVN Facts