Under-10s self-harming
CONCERN AS KIRKLEES FIGURES REVEAL EXTENT OF PROBLEM
CHILDREN as young as 10 have been treated for self-harm injuries in Kirklees, NHS figures have revealed.
During 2018/19, there were 170 incidents where people aged 19 or younger living in Huddersfield or North Kirklees were admitted to hospital, having suffered some kind of self-inflicted harm.
Of those, just over a third (60) were for children aged between 10 and 14.
The figures include a range of selfharm incidents, not just the use of sharp objects.
They show there were 730 selfharm incidents in total in the borough during the 12-month period.
The majority are younger people, with about 55% being under the age of 30.
A small amount of incidents occurred with elderly residents, including over the age of 90, but the NHS has not revealed how many.
Director of campaigns for the mental health charity YoungMinds, Tom Madders, said: “We know that children and young people today face a wide range of pressures. Difficult experiences in childhood, like abuse or neglect, can have a huge impact on mental health, but there are also new pressures that have emerged in recent years. The education system now places a greater emphasis than ever on exam results, while the rise of social media can make problems like bullying or body image issues more intense than they were in the past.
“For many young people, it is still really difficult to get early help for their mental health when they first reach out for support. Facing a long waiting list or not meeting the threshold for treatment often results in problems getting worse. The Government must make early intervention a priority, so young people get help when problems first emerge, long before they reach crisis point.”
Only one year of data was provided in the analysis, so comparisons with earlier years cannot be made.
Across England, a total of 66 selfharm admissions to hospital were for children aged four and younger. A further 110 were for children aged between five and nine, and 7,457 were for children between the ages of 10 and 14.
There were also 20,611 self-harm hospital admissions for teens aged between 15 and 19 years old - by far the highest number across any of the five-year age bands included in the analysis.
Director of policy and research at The Children’s Society, Sam Royston, said: “Being admitted to hospital as a result of self-harm is frequently a frightening experience, but often within hours young people will find themselves back in their bedrooms waiting for their first CAMHS appointment with no other support.
”It’s crucial that wrap-around, ongoing mental health support in the community is available for children in crisis, to reduce the need for hospital admissions and provide care for young people throughout and following an episode of severe mental ill health.”