Latest news with #youthcare
CTV News
15-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Advocate says progress being made since B.C. child torture death, more work required
British Columbia's Representative for Children and Youth Dr. Jennifer Charlesworth listens during an online media availability after releasing a report highlighting significant gaps in systems of care for children and youth, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck British Columbia's representative for children and youth says some progress is being made to improve the child welfare system, but she's concerned 'fiscal limitations' will prevent timely help from getting to those most in need. Jennifer Charlesworth's statement comes a year after her report on the myriad of failures that ended in the death of an 11-year-old Indigenous boy who was tortured by extended family members who had been approved to care for him by the government. Charlesworth credits the government with making progress on some of the recommended improvements that came out of the report, such as working toward a 'child well-being strategy and action plan.' She says more needs to be done to support families — including basic income and housing support — and there is still not enough child welfare staff to meet demand. A statement from the provincial government says multiple ministries are working on the action plan which will serve as the 'cornerstone' of the province's strategy to align services. It says the government is working on a 'framework' that will include measurable ways to track children's well-being and that the Ministry of Children and Family Development is working on documentation guidelines for social workers. The statement does not provide timelines for when the work will be complete. 'Every child in our province deserves safety, belonging and love, and we must do better,' Minister of Children and Family Development Jodie Wickens says in the statement. 'We are working with all our partners toward a renewed model of child well-being that focuses on prevention, care and supporting families before they find themselves in crisis.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2025 Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press
ABC News
02-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Young Victorians wait in hospital for acute mental health care beds
Wodonga teenager Katie Kendall says finding the mental health care she needed at just 16 was an extra blow to her already-fragile state. The closest available acute adolescent mental health inpatient bed at Eastern Health's Box Hill Hospital was more than a three-hour drive away, and securing a bed was never guaranteed. "There was a period where I was presenting every single night for about a month because I couldn't get beds in inpatient units, and that's what we were told to do, just keep presenting to the local hospital," she said. Acute mental health inpatient beds provide a space with expert multi-disciplinary teams to support young people with acute mental health challenges. Katie was admitted to the beds at Box Hill Hospital six times, and once into an Albury adult mental health unit when she was just 17 in a unisex space that "scared" her. She said she was also once left up to five nights in an emergency department. "Every time it's happened, I end up coming out worse," Ms Kendall said. "Being trapped in that sort of room and needing to try to keep yourself safe when you're already not in a good place, you don't have anything to do, a lot of the time, my mental health just spiralled." Ms Kendall, now 19, said she had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and chose to be treated privately. Demand for youth mental health care is rapidly increasing, but acute adolescent mental health inpatient bed numbers are stagnating. There are 58 acute adolescent mental health inpatient beds across Victoria that support young people, generally aged between 12 to 17 years of age, and more than two-thirds of them have been operating for more than 20 years. Just four are in regional Victoria. Each regional area feeds into designated metro-based health services, where the state's remaining acute adolescent mental health inpatient beds are split between Austin Health, Eastern Health, Monash Health and the Royal Children's Hospital. Some metro services accommodate about 400 mental health inpatient referrals a year. They accept referrals from other areas if they have availability. Austin Health has received 329 referrals to its Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry Unit over the past year. It was able to accommodate 37 of 42 rural referrals. Monash Children's Hospital Stepping Stones adolescent inpatient mental health unit accommodates mostly low dependency referrals and experiences peak seasonal challenges, but its intensive care area beds are nearly always full. There has been a 50 per cent increase in mental health conditions among young people between 2007 and 2021, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Youth mental health experts say there is a huge gap in care for young people who have complex mental health issues that available community services can't treat. Youth mental health advocacy group, Orygen, said many adolescents had to be very unwell before they qualified to access acute inpatient care. "Their experience in going to an emergency department, not being able to be admitted because you're not unwell enough because that system is under so much stress, means that they are often then sent back or discharged back then into the community," Orygen's director of policy and engagement, Vivienne Browne, said. "There's not the services there in the community that are able to respond to the complexity and the severity of their mental ill health. The Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System recommended in 2019 a further 170 new youth and adult mental health beds. A Victorian government spokesperson said that had been delivered and included 10 Youth Hospital in the Home beds around Melbourne. In 2022, the Victorian government rolled out its Mental Health and Wellbeing Levy on businesses to help provide a stable and dedicated form of additional funding for the mental health system. The levy raised $1.2 billion during the 2023-24 financial year, but the ABC was unable to obtain a breakdown from the government on how that money was spent. "Every dollar raised by the Mental Health and Wellbeing Levy goes straight into the mental health system — as is required under Victorian legislation," a government spokesperson said. "In response to the royal commission's recommendations, planning is also underway for a new statewide service framework for inpatient care for young people — this will be developed in partnership with young people, their families, carers and supporters.
Irish Times
29-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Teenager who ‘aged out' of secure care placed in Dublin city centre apartment where staff ‘drop in'
A teenager who 'aged out' of his secure-care placement last weekend has been placed by Tusla in a two-bedroom apartment in Dublin city centre with security guards and care staff 'dropping in'. The High Court heard on Thursday plans for the 18-year-old, who has an emerging personality disorder, were 'grossly inadequate' and would have a 'monumental effect on his behaviour' with potentially 'seismic consequences'. Judge John Jordan was told the young man had been in a secure-care unit for three years until last Friday where he had 'responded well' to antipsychotic medication prescribed by an on-site psychiatrist. A child or young person who is deemed to be at such a risk to themselves, or others, as to need therapeutic residential care may be detained in secure care by the High Court. READ MORE The young man was now in an apartment 'without an adult psychiatrist', said Shane Costello SC, for the man's parents. 'He is being released into the community without even someone to prescribe the medication. He does not yet have a GP. He has nothing to do.' The court heard agency care staff would 'drop in' to visit the young man in his new accommodation. Mr Costello said: 'There is no assessment of needs . . . There is no aftercare document. It is grievously wrong that this is the best we can do in this country for someone with [the teenager's] presentations. 'My clients are distraught. They feel it is only a matter of time before [he] finds himself in great conflict with society which may result in further criminal charges.' Judge Jordan heard the adolescent was before another court on Thursday facing criminal charges relating to events while he was in special care. The parents were 'worried sick' by the situation and 'my heart goes out to them', he said. But as their son was now 18 he could not make orders in respect of his aftercare. Nor could he 'fix' those aspects of mental health services that were 'hugely deficient' in responding to children and young adults with 'emerging personality disorders'. It was an issue 'that needs to be addressed', said the judge 'because it is creating a situation where children coming of age are falling between stools'. 'They are not getting the care or support that they need, It is terribly unfortunate because it seems to me there is good support for the view that [the young man's] prospects are prospects that one can be optimistic about if he gets the mental healthcare and interventions that he needs.' He listed the matter for further review on July 3rd, saying he wanted updates on Tusla's and the HSE's support plans. 'It's not too much to ask and it's not too much for [the man] and his parents to ask,' he said. Earlier, the court heard updates on a case involving 'an incredibly vulnerable girl' aged 17 with an emerging personality disorder, in secure care and fearing she will be 'left with nothing' in mental health supports on reaching 18. 'It is very apparent from the reviews she is a highly intelligent, highly articulate girl with a difficult diagnosis that State services are struggling to manage in respect of a emotionally unstable personality disorder,' the court heard. Judge Jordan was 'not satisfied' sufficient planning was under way for the girl's aftercare. 'I will if needs be, be listing this matter on a frequent basis to expedite the planning,' he said. The number of operational secure-care beds increased from 14 to 15 since last week, the court heard. Among those who got one was a 15-year-old boy who, the court had heard, was 'free falling' and whose father believed would 'die' without secure care.
