Cry for help from parents of troubled teenagers

Wednesday 18 June 2014

A parent whose child had to wait 24 hours for professional help after a suicide attempt has backed a report calling for urgent improvements in support for troubled kids.

The parent – who formed a support group for families with children with mental health problems – says that there needs to be better management in charge of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

The founder of SPOTT Jersey is backing Scrutiny’s review of CAMHS and says no more taxpayers money should be wasted on it until it’s clear how many youngsters it is supporting.

The parent, who cannot be named, said: “We do find it shocking that an agency supporting vulnerable Island youngsters has no proper data collection procedure and cannot verify at any one point in time how many cases they are dealing with.

“This is basic procedure and it appears that a more robust infrastructure and management is required before more money and staff are applied to the department.”

SPOTT was set up last year to help parents of teenagers struggling with depression, self-harming, suicidal tendencies and aggression. It has first hand experience of the lack of out-of-hours support for parents – one of the failings highlighted in the Scrutiny report.

The founder said: “I have had personal experience of having a child attempt suicide, being placed in Robin Ward alongside cancer sufferers and having to wait over 24 hours for professional support.

“The nursing staff are excellent and always professional but are not trained to deal with child mental health issues and the fallout that this causes.

“This report is an excellent and accurate view of the services we have today. Child mental health is a specific field and appropriate support should be available. The last thing we would like to see is the stretch of adult services to take up some of the pressure.”

Many members of the group feel like they are often deliberately alienated and side-lined and made to feel like they are bad parents and that this is the first time they have had their opinions heard.