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Experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic on child and adolescent psychiatric wards: Multi-methods investigation
Holland, Josephine Da-Silva-Ellimah, Morenike Morriss, Richard K. Sayal, Kapil
Holland, Josephine
Da-Silva-Ellimah, Morenike
Morriss, Richard K.
Sayal, Kapil
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Child and adolescent mental health service in-patient beds are unevenly spread throughout England. Where demand outstrips bed availability, young people may be admitted at-distance or to adult psychiatric wards. The COVID-19 pandemic added pressures to already overstretched services. Understanding experiences during this period is vital to inform strategies for future emergencies. AIMS: To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on admissions to local, at-distance or adult psychiatric units, from the perspectives of young people, parents/carers and healthcare professionals. METHOD: Multi-methods data were collected from February 2021 to September 2022, as part of the Far Away from Home research programme. A 13-month national surveillance study collected information about admissions to general adolescent units >50 miles from home, out-of-region or to adult psychiatric units. Free-text data from respondents (n = 51) were analysed using content analysis. Interviews with young people (n = 30), parents/carers (n = 21) and healthcare professionals (n = 68) were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic affected young people's contact with others; the requirement to self-isolate on admission and following overnight leave felt distressing, and visiting was limited. This disincentivised overnight leave, leading to some discharges being delayed and others feeling rushed and high risk. The COVID-19 pandemic also accelerated the introduction of virtual meetings, enabling community teams and families to be more involved in therapies, meetings and decision-making. CONCLUSIONS: Restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic were often negatively perceived. However, the increased use of technology was felt to be positive, widening inclusion and mitigating some negative effects of distance on admissions.
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Date
2024
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Article
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COVID-19, Child psychiatry, Mental health services
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Holland, J., Da-Silva-Ellimah, M., Roe, J., Morriss, R. & Sayal, K. (2024). Experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic on child and adolescent psychiatric wards: Multi-methods investigation. BJPsych Open, 10 (6), pp.e197.
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© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press
on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists. This is an Open
Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution
and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
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