Newark and Sherwood children self-harming 200% more than 19 years ago, research reveals
Research into NHS data shows child self-harm admissions to Sherwood Forest NHS hospitals increased by 200 per cent over the last 19 years.
And new figures suggest that self-harm is not only a Newark and Sherwood district problem, but a nationwide issue on the rise among the most vulnerable in society - our children.
The Advertiser can reveal visits to Sherwood Forest NHS hospitals for child self-harm was at 55 in 1998. In 2017 there were 165.
The shocking number of local cases are part of an NHS England report spanning 19 years, revealing the number of admissions in England rose from 7,327 to 13,463 during the time period.
But Sherwood Forest Hospitals – who provide healthcare for 420,000 people - explained in a statement they remain "fully committed" to helping children who have self-harmed and works in partnership with Nottinghamshire Healthcare to provide a "robust pathway" to help children and their families with self-harming behaviours, including after-care with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).
Suzanne Banks, chief nurse for Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said being aware of mental health issues in children is "really key".
"We have been working on this approach with our partners, Nottinghamshire Healthcare, for some time now. It is important to note that mental health awareness has come a long way in the last 19 years, and we are much more aware of it now in society than we perhaps were 19 years ago, which could be why more cases are now being recorded,” she added.
The data compiled addressed two categories – self-harm and self-poison – the former being harm inflicted on the body and the latter something harmful ingested. In most cases, it revealed kids under 18 were more likely to self-poison than self-harm, however, showed females were four times more at risk in general.
Responding to the data, Harmless – a Notts-based self-harm charity – said self-harm has affected young people for a long time in Nottinghamshire and on a much larger scale.
A spokesperson said: “The reported increase might demonstrate that we are better able to identify, talk about, and accurately record self-harm, but also reminds us that huge numbers of young people are in emotional distress and not able to cope.
“Think about school, exams, bullying, pressure, puberty, ‘insta-glam’ culture, working out who you are and what your identity is. Being young can be incredibly hard,"
They added Harmless knows self-harm doesn’t discriminate and impacts those from all walks of life and offers free support to anyone affected to create “a safe space free of stigma, discrimination and judgement”.
It comes after the tragic death of teenager Molly Russell, who ended her life a few days before her 14th birthday after viewing self-harm material on Instagram. Her father Ian Russell believes Instagram was partly to blame for her death after finding depression and suicide material on her social media account.
And following days of mounting pressure on Instagram, the social network's boss, Adam Mosseri, admitted the company had not done enough to prevent the access to explicit self-harm content and vowed to remove such material from the site.
The harmful imagery has since been removed.
Jonathan Gribbin, director of public health at Notts County Council, said the reporting of self-harm has increased both nationally and locally.
"In Nottinghamshire, we are working with partners to tackle the issue. We have developed a local transformation plan to protect and improve our children and young people’s emotional mental health and wellbeing across the health, education and social care system. To date the plan has ensured an improved response is available for children and young people’s emotional mental health and wellbeing via the commissioning of services and support and training," he said.
Mr Gribbin explained that examples of help include the 2015 crisis resolution and home treatment service commissioned by the NHS to provide young people in Nottinghamshire with "an urgent response" when experiencing a mental health crisis.
He added: "Alongside the local NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, there is an online counselling service provided by Kooth.com. This free counselling is available to all young people aged 11-25 across Nottinghamshire in a safe, confidential and non-stigmatised way.
“We are also working with local schools to improve children and young people’s emotional mental health and well-being and by sharing and developing practical tools and resources. An intensive programme of training including self-harm has been provided alongside a number of resources."
If you, or anyone you know, is struggling with their mental health or self-harm, please visit: info@harmless.org.uk, or call: 0115 880 0280
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