Mentally ill children: «There is a lack of time and money»
of the Adolescent Medicine Department at the St. Gallen Children's Hospital about the increase in mentally ill children and adolescents.
Mr Büchter, there is a lack of therapy places for children in your hospital. How bad is it?
The number of children and adolescents with psychosomatic disorders - such as eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders and anxiety disorders - has increased by around a quarter compared to the time before coronavirus. The number of inpatients with psychosomatic disorders, especially eating disorders, has also risen dramatically. All beds in Romerhuus, our psychotherapeutic-psychosomatic ward, are currently occupied. We also have long waiting lists. The same applies to initial appointments for various assessments, which is a terrible situation for all those affected.
department of adolescent medicine at the Children's Hospital St. Gallen. (Image: zVg)
How do you explain this sharp increase in mentally ill children and young people?
I don't believe that the pandemic as such is responsible for the increase, but that problematic situations were easier to deal with before Covid-19. Due to the coronavirus crisis, important structures for children and young people in and outside of school are missing and contact with peers is severely restricted. The mechanisms that previously worked relatively well to compensate for obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders have completely disappeared.
Where do you see possible solutions?
The most important point would be that psychosomatic illnesses in children and adolescents - and of course also in adults - are recognised and taken seriously by the population and by politicians. Psychosomatic illnesses and their therapies require a lot of time and money. However, the healthcare system lacks both. It is easier and also more cost-effective to carry out operations or other therapies that generate more money for the hospital system in terms of costs and benefits. It can't be right that parents have to consider themselves lucky if their child breaks their leg instead of developing a psychological condition just because treatment is then possible quickly.
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