Wrong alarm in New Zealand: Eleven year old ended up in psychiatry!

Wrong alarm in New Zealand: Eleven year old ended up in psychiatry!

In New Zealand, there was recently a unfortunate incident, in which an eleven-year-old girl was wrongly considered a missing 20-year-old woman. The incident occurred on March 9 in Hamilton when the girl was picked up by a police patrol on a bridge. Because of her "limited language skills", she was instructed to a clinic where she was brought to the psychiatric intensive care unit. Despite the remark of a nurse that the child looked like a girl, it was not responded to the mistake in time. The Ministry of Health said that the girl was unable to describe the situation due to her disability.

In the clinic, the girl refused to take the medication prescribed by the hospital staff. It was then fixed and treated with antipsychotics, a measure that is used extremely rarely in children. Overall, the girl was in the clinic for more than twelve hours until the police noticed the mistake and informed the family. After clarification of the misunderstanding, the parents picked up their daughter. Richard Sullivan, a health officer, apologized for the “trauma” of the family. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon described the incident as "terrible" and expressed his sympathy towards the girl and family.

mental health of children in focus

This incident not only raises questions about the treatment of mentally ill children, but also fits into a broader context of the care of such children. In Germany, a comprehensive needs analysis for the care of mentally ill adolescents was recently presented. This analysis shows that about 20 % of children and adolescents have mental or behavioral problems, while about 6 % require treatment. The fact that around 50 % of children and adolescents requires treatment do not receive therapy.

The project "Care of mentally ill children and adolescents in Germany", funded by the Federal Ministry of Health, has identified special deficits for high -risk groups. These groups are particularly susceptible to mental disorders, especially if they live in difficult domestic conditions or need special support due to their life situation. The project manager, Prof. Dr. Jörg M. Fegert, emphasizes the need to draw consequences from the results of the analysis in order to improve and expand the supply offers.

challenges in care

The analysis has shown that there are numerous interface problems in Germany between different institutions, especially in school care and youth welfare. In particular, the transition from youth to adult psychiatry is considered a central challenge. In addition, the need is pointed out to actively involve relatives or caregivers in the pension process in order to optimize the help.

The situation in New Zealand and the challenges in Germany show that it is urgently necessary to improve the supply structures for mentally ill children and adolescents. Different health concerns require adapted approaches to ensure the well -being of these vulnerable groups and to provide them with the support they urgently need.

On the importance of early detection of mental illnesses and the creation of a more accessible support system is intensively discussed in specialist circles to ensure that such tragic incidents can be avoided in the future.

For more information about the situation in New Zealand, visit the page of vienna.at . The analysis of the mental health of children and adolescents in Germany can be found under aerzteblatt.de .