By MARTIN JOHNSTON health reporter
A $4 million project to provide safer facilities for the growing number of disturbed youngsters kicks off today at the Starship children's hospital. A dawn blessing was scheduled to mark the start of construction of an expansion of the child and family unit, the only hospital
inpatient facility in the North Island for those under 18 suffering mental and emotional difficulties.
The project, financed by the Health Funding Authority and expected to be finished in April, will increase the number of beds by 10 to 25. Instead of all being grouped in the same ward as they are now, they will be in three separate areas.
One will contain five beds for those under 12, another will have 12 beds for adolescents in an unlocked unit, and the third will contain eight beds in a "high-dependence" unit that will mostly be locked.
The clinical director, Dr Mike Gudex, said staff were "really excited" by the improvement to the unit. It had remained locked for most of the past two years because of the risk of patients absconding, he said.
It had turned away young children because there had not been room or because it was inappropriate or unsafe for them owing to the presence of older children with different disorders.
Some teenagers had been sent to the adult wards at the Conolly Unit, Dr Gudex said. They needed its greater security, although staying in an adult environment was not desirable for youngsters as they might be vulnerable.
No teenagers had suffered physically by being sent to the unit, he said, "but they would still be exposed to seeing and hearing things that aren't necessarily healthy for them."
"It's very distressing if you're just developing a disorder to see somebody 30 years down the track who is quite unwell. It doesn't help kids manage their issues at the time."
He said the number of children and teenagers needing to be admitted for mental problems was rising. That was owing to increasing recognition of such disorders in young people and that treatment could help.
Also, some disorders, severe depression for instance, were becoming more prevalent, partly because of increasing rates of substance abuse.
