THE STATE's mental health watchdog has warned the Government of the urgent need to provide psychiatric facilities for children after almost 200 children were admitted to adult mental hospitals last year.
The Mental Health Commission (MHC) says the practice can have an adverse effect on children and should only take place where there is no alternative. Some of the children admitted to adult institutions were as young as 14.
The comments are contained in a report submitted to the Government on the operation of the Mental Health Act, which came fully into force 1-and-a-half years ago.
New figures show there is little sign of child admissions to adult units falling this year. Between January and June, a further 113 children were placed in adult psychiatric facilities.
The commission says the legislation has made important improvements for patients with mental health difficulties. It says the proportion of people in psychiatric hospitals against their will has fallen by 25 per cent since the Act came into force.
It also points to the establishment of mental health tribunals - which provide for automatic reviews of involuntarily detained patients - which sat on 2,500 occasions last year. These tribunals, which take place within 21 days of a patient being detained against their will, resulted in about 11 per cent of detention orders being revoked.
However, there are major variations in involuntary detention around the country. Patients are almost twice as likely to be detained against their will in the south than in the greater Dublin area.
MHC chairman Dr Edmond O'Dea said the new Act has led to a higher level of accountability and external scrutiny. While this progress is very encouraging, he said the commission has made important recommendations.
These include the introduction of new capacity legislation to clarify how decisions are taken in relation to patients unable to participate in decisions about their care. Other recommendations include changes to ensure the rights of patients being regraded from voluntary to involuntary status are protected. The commission proposes research to examine patients before, during and after the process of involuntary admission.
