No end in sight to kids' mental health crisis, Calgary doctors warn
CBC
Alberta Children's Hospital is facing a growing wave of children with complex mental health needs, leaving some families waiting for days in the emergency department.
According to Alberta Health Services (AHS), while overall ER visits for mental health care dropped slightly between 2018 and 2022, the number of kids requiring hospital admission jumped by 36 per cent.
There was a 20 per cent increase in the number of children needing specialist mental health care while in the emergency department during the same period.
"We continue to see incredibly high numbers of incredibly complex young people in desperate need of help," said Dr. Sterling Sparshu, a Calgary-based child and adolescent psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor at the University of Calgary.
According to Sparshu, the hospital was already experiencing a surge of children in need of mental health care prior to the pandemic.
That accelerated when COVID-19 hit, he said, and it hasn't waned.
"The system's still in a state of crisis. Even if we had fewer kids presenting, the ones who are presenting need so much more from us that we still need more resources."
Sparshu treats children for a wide range of serious issues, including depression, severe anxiety disorders, eating disorders and trauma.
Some are as young as four years old.
"We are seeing very sick kids and sadly younger and younger kids with more and more severe challenges."
In a best case scenario, he said, kids wait in the ER for several hours to be admitted to a mental health bed.
But some wait for days.
"It's heartbreaking that when we have families in crisis, they have to wait days until they can get from the ER up to a mental health unit and get the care that they need and deserve," said Sparshu.
"It's incredibly demoralizing for families."