Is it just me or are young adolescents coming out of the woodwork with mental illnesses? I swear we see at least 3-4 thirteen or fourteen year olds a shift depressed and suicidal. Are their more of them or are the parents taking them for help now a days?
Mental health care is a farce in this country. Especially inpatient mental health. There is a shortage of psychiatrists and it seems like we are always short of beds. I guess mental health is not profitable. So our patients at times sit in the ER for up to 24 hours waiting for a bed.
Sometimes they are transferred to other hospitals in the city and sometimes even to another city in the state or neighboring state. A couple of weeks ago I transferred an adolescent 250 miles away to a hospital. For some reason the parents couldn't go with, so I sent this 14 year old 250 miles away by himself with medics.
Its really sad how we treat the mentally ill in this country.
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