Mental health: Medical Association warns of dramatic gap in care!

Mental health: Medical Association warns of dramatic gap in care!

The mental health of children and young people in Austria faces major challenges. The Austrian Medical Association highlights alarmingly that waiting times for treatment in child and adolescent psychiatry have increased dramatically. Chamber President Johannes Steinhart calls for targeted investments and better integration of supply structures in order to meet increasing demand. Loud vienna.at Last year, the median waiting time for an appointment was 90 days, which is the longest waiting time among all disciplines.

What is particularly worrying is the fact that 40% of child and adolescent psychiatry offices are no longer accepting new patients. In adult psychiatry, the waiting time is 37 days, while 20% of wards are full. The number of acute psychiatric emergencies among children and adolescents has increased by 80% since 2020, from 1,000 to 1,800 cases. There is still no sign of a decline in emergencies after the pandemic.

Increasing pressure on help systems

More than 66% of child and adolescent psychotherapists (KJP) have increased their treatment hours since the beginning of the corona pandemic in order to meet the increased demand. However, the waiting time for a therapy place has almost doubled - from an average of 14.4 weeks two years ago to 25.3 weeks today, as a study from Germany shows the medical journal. Requests for psychotherapeutic help are increasingly pressing, with patients often appearing desperate.

The pressure on the help systems is growing. The health, school and youth welfare systems are overloaded. Experts are calling for an adjustment to the supply system because the current structure cannot keep pace with the increased needs. The most common mental disorders in adolescence are depressive disorders, eating disorders and anxiety disorders, which are particularly widespread among girls aged 15 to 19 according to a report.

Need for action and prevention

The medical association is also warning of an impending wave of retirements, with 24% of child psychiatrists and 37% of adult psychiatrists set to retire in the next five years. In addition, 11% of child psychiatrists and 21% of adult psychiatrists are over 65 years old. In order to remedy the shortage of skilled workers, the Medical Association is calling for the expansion of training positions and the integration of child psychiatric care into primary care units.

Strengthening psychosocial prevention is also of utmost importance. Measures such as mandatory training for teachers and low-threshold offers such as online psychotherapy could help improve the situation. Healthy lifestyles should be brought into focus, as new fears caused by current crises such as the war in Ukraine and the climate crisis could also have a negative impact on mental health.

Overall, it is clear that the increasing number of mental illnesses among children and young people must be addressed with a well-structured and supportive system. The need for action is enormous, and only coordinated measures can ensure future access to psychotherapeutic treatments for the younger generation.