Almost 4,900 children under the age of 17 attended adult emergency departments for self-harm and suicide-related thoughts over a five-year period, according to new Irish research.
The study reveals that almost half of the presentations of children and young adults occurred after weekday office hours — commenting that “at times of crisis there is nowhere else to go”.
The report found that an additional 4,400 young people aged 18-19 also attended the EDs.
It said the high rate of 18-19 year olds leaving EDs before being seen is of “particular concern” from a suicide risk perspective.
The study, the first of its type in Ireland, was conducted by a team of medical academics and clinicians in Cork and Dublin and the HSE National Clinical Programme for Self-harm and suicide-related ideation (NCPSHI).
It said that EDs are…