Two years after the health crisis, the wave of psychiatric problems among young people has not subsided and worries specialists. The Defender of Rights called on Thursday, June 2, the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, to put in place an emergency plan for the mental health of young people in the face of “the gravity of the situation”considering that means “grossly insufficient” are deployed.
“While 2022 has been designated European Year of Youth, the Defender of Rights, Claire Hédon, and her deputy, the Children’s Defender, Eric Delemar, call on the Prime Minister to take full measure of the gravity of the situation in which plunged many young people and to act quickly to ensure that the mental health of young people is a priority”she reported in a statement.
Young girls mainly affected
The Defender of Rights had already warned in November about the state of the mental health of young people undermined by the health crisis, with an increase in depressive disorders and insufficient psychiatric care, in her annual report on the rights of the ‘child.
According to the latest bulletin from Public Health France, visits to the emergency room for suicidal gestures, suicidal thoughts and mood disorders among 11-17 year olds were maintained at the beginning of May “at a high level”higher than that observed at the start of 2021. While all social backgrounds are affected, in 80% of cases suicidal behavior concerns young girls, which is nothing new.
“Public Health France unfortunately proved him right by publishing alarming figures on an increase in emergency room visits for suicidal gestures, suicidal thoughts and mood disorders”underlines the press release, deploring that “However, some structures continue to close child psychiatry beds for lack of staff and resources”.
29 recommendations
Over the past few months, the delays in obtaining an appointment with a psychiatrist have considerably lengthened. In medico-psychological centers, they can reach 18 months depending on the region. “The lack of care for mental health disorders and the resulting breaches of rights constitute an obstacle to the proper development of the child and to his best interests, which two years of epidemic waves have contributed to aggravate in a very worrying way. »continues the text.
“While the peak of adolescent hospitalizations in 2021 does not come down, the situation of some of these minors remains dramatic, as the care is sometimes unsuitable. » For the Defender of Rights, it is necessary “getting out of fragmentary and strictly sanitary approaches”.
Faced with growing needs, certain structures have emerged, such as Atrap, in the 20e district in Paris, which promises a rapid response (48 hours maximum) to young people aged 10 to 15 in a state of crisis and who have no psychiatric care in their area. But it is only accessible to Parisians.
In her November report, the Defender of Rights made 29 recommendations to tackle this problem, including improving childcare arrangements for young children, developing “parenting support” and open “adolescent houses” in each department.