Children still being kept at Mt Carmel

Children with mental health problems are still being held at Mount Carmel hospital after the government said it would put an end to the “disgusting and irresponsible” practice, Labour Party health spokesman Marie Louise Colerio Preca said.

All steps possible are taken to keep the admission in adult wards as short as possible and to safeguard the children...

Children with psychiatric problems are currently kept at Mount Carmel’s Young People’s Unit. A few months ago the government had said it planned to set up a treatment unit, specifically for children, located outside the Attard psychiatric hospital.

Dr Coleiro Preca pointed out that things had remained the same and called on the Children’s Commissioner to carry out an inquiry into the situation.

Not only were children still being kept at the hospital but some minors were in adult wards, she said.

She also called for an investigation by Parliament’s Social Affairs’ Committee.

Last September it had emerged that five minors were being kept in the hospital’s adult wards, identified by a government spokesman as disturbed or dangerous.

At the moment two boys are there, aged 13 and 14.

A spokesman for the Parliamentary Secretariat for Community Care said the hospital tried to reduce the need for referrals of children by offering residential agencies more psychiatric support on site. Once admitted to Mount Carmel Hospital, children were kept in adult sections in exceptional cases.

“All steps possible are taken to keep the admission in adult wards as short as possible and to safeguard the children ... Children in adult wards are accompanied by staff members at all times, preventing any possible problems,” he said.

He added that the plan was still to move children out of the hospital.

Children’s Commissioner Helen D’Amato shared the concerns raised by Dr Coleiro Preca. She said a task force set up by her office had recommended the need to set up a small-scale residential structure located in the community.

This recommendation was presented to the relevant minister and a working group was set up.

“It is hoped that, through the concerted effort being made, practical solutions, which guarantee the well-being of young people, will be found and implemented in as short a timeframe as possible,” she said.

Edwin Vassallo, who heads the social affairs committee, said he would be glad to discuss the issue when the committee met today.