18 Aug
Hospital sees ‘exponential’ self-harm rise in teenagers
Numbers presenting for emotional concern have increased each year for five years.
The number of teenagers attending the emergency department (ED) of Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street, because they have self-harmed or threatened to self-harm has increased exponentially, according to Dr Brian Houlihan, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist.
Dr Houlihan, who is also clinical director of the St Frances clinic at Temple Street, says that in 2014 they had more than “300 presentations for emotional concern” in the department, which is “the largest number to date”.
