hospital emergency room sliding door
(NewsNation) — Groups of medical organizations are calling for systemic changes and strategies to improve mental health care for young people, who are increasingly visiting emergency departments with symptoms such as depression and suicidal thoughts.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, along with the American Association of Emergency Physicians and the Association of Emergency Nurses, stated in a paper: new policy statement Emergency departments across the country need more support and resources to help young people at risk.
“Many emergency departments lack adequate staffing, capacity and infrastructure to triage and treat patients with mental and behavioral emergencies,” said Morsen, lead author of the policy statement. Saidinejad said: said in a news release. “This increases the likelihood of long wait times, facility overcrowding, and other challenges that compromise patient care. We have no recourse but to outpatients, and since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have faced this dilemma frequently.”
The group points out that about half a million children with mental health emergencies are seen in emergency rooms each year. Between 2007 and 2016, ER visits surged by more than 100% at children’s hospitals and more than 55% at general hospitals, according to a joint report.
The period of hospitalization is getting longerPartly because mental health cases are complicated.
Racial disparities also exist, with increasing suicide rates among black school-aged children, the policy statement said. The report cites a study that analyzed suicide rates among U.S. adolescents from 2001 to 2015 and found that black children aged 5 to 12 had higher suicide rates than white children. was found to be about twice as high in children with
Clinical psychologist Laura Landerman Gerber, PhD, says, “Suicide is the second leading cause of death among children ages 10 to 14, so when you say, ‘How big is this, how big is this?’ I call it an epidemic.”
To improve care, organizations recommend implementing strategies in pre-hospital settings, emergency rooms, and communities. The report calls for more screening tools, telemedicine for psychiatric consultations, mobile emergency management teams, pediatric-trained mental health professionals, and emergency care to create mild and safe areas for patients. The room needs to be redesigned.
“Children and adolescents, like everyone else, have the right to the best possible care when they visit emergency departments during mental or behavioral health crises. ,” said Terri Foster, president of the Association of Emergency Nursing. “Increased treatment education and resources will allow us to continue to improve the care provided to all mental and behavioral health patients, not just young people.”
