Cut Price Adolescent Units that meet all Needs and None?

Abstract

As a junior doctor, I worked on an adolescent unit attached to a large mental hospital. Since it provided a base for a regional service, it struggled to cope with referrals of all kinds. The in-patient population consisted of youngsters of both sexes exhibiting a wide variety of disorders ranging from psychosis, anorexia and brain syndromes to emotional and conduct disorders. The turnover was low: about 18 admissions per year to the 18 beds. This resulted in a lengthy waiting list which afforded the unit some protection: seriously acting out and other very pressing problems that could not wait often had to go elsewhere.