Coronavirus doctor's diary: We're getting self-harming 10-year-olds in A&E

Mito

Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2016
Messages
2,554
“The pandemic has had a deep impact on children, who are arriving in A&E in greater numbers and at younger ages after self-harming or taking overdoses, writes Dr John Wright of Bradford Royal Infirmary. Children are a lost tribe in the pandemic. While they remain (for the most part) perplexingly immune to the health consequences of Covid-19, their lives and daily routines have been turned upside down. From surveys and interviews carried out for the Born in Bradford study, we know that they are anxious, isolated and bored, and we see the tip of this iceberg of mental ill health in the hospital. Children in mental health crisis used to be brought to A&E about twice a week. Since the summer it's been more like once or twice a day. Some as young as 10 have cut themselves, taken overdoses, or tried to asphyxiate themselves. There was even one child aged eight. Lockdown "massively exacerbates any pre-existing mental health issues - fears, anxieties, feelings of disconnection and isolation," says A&E consultant Dave Greenhorn.

While Bradford has been in lockdown longer than some other parts of the country, there is no reason to believe this is a local problem. Dave says fellow A&E consultants he's spoken to in Scotland, Portsmouth and Northern Ireland all report a significant increase in mental health attendances - among all age groups, children as well as adults.”

Coronavirus doctor's diary: We're getting self-harming 10-year-olds in A&E
 

boris

Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2019
Messages
2,345
[...]lockdown measures and new social distancing norms have had a significant impact on children’s mental health.
Young children were experiencing developmental regression, such as bedwetting, difficulty falling asleep and separation anxiety, while older children were showing behavioural problems, signs of agitation, sudden withdrawal and a fear of going back to school.
“Some children who have never had any particular difficulties are now presenting acute mental disorders linked to the health crisis,” Landman told JDD.
“For the past two weeks we’ve seen an influx of some serious situations...such as children and adolescents with suicidal ideas.”
 
Back
Top Bottom