The Health Ministry has begun formulating a first-of-its-kind national emergency plan for children and teens in mental distress, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz announced Tuesday at the Israel Hayom mental resilience conference in Tel Aviv.
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The move comes against the backdrop of a sharp increase in referrals for kids and youngsters to mental health services, including psychiatric clinics, a number that according to unofficial data from health maintenance organizations spiked by 40% since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Horowitz said the plan would be presented to the government in the near future and would be implemented by the health, education and welfare and social affairs ministries.
Israel Hayom found out from sources involved in the matter that measures would include the establishment of mental health services that do not yet exist in Israel, such as ten crisis prevention centers that will provide primary care to children in urgent need.
According to sources, the project is the initiative of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Association and can launch immediately in cooperation with hospitals and health funds. It will include grants and scholarships to child psychiatrists and psychologists, additional funding to HMOs, and increased cooperation with youth movements, whose counselors will be trained to identify the warning signs of mental illness and suicide.
Dr. Zvi Fishel, Chairman of the Israel Psychiatric Association, welcomed the announcement.
"The unavailability of psychiatrists and other caregivers leads to unbearably long queues. It is crucial to allocate an adequate budget that will bring new employees and keep the young professional psychiatrists in the public system. The promises and plans of the Health Ministry must be implemented in order to bring a cure for the severe mental distress in children, teens, and also adults."
Professor Doron Gothelf, director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit at Sheba Medical Center, concurred.
"The past year has seen a sharp increase in the mental distress of children and youngsters in Israel and worldwide. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has already declared a state of emergency and a report by the Elem association [that works with at-risk youth] showed that depression, anxiety, eating disorders, victims of violence, and alcohol and drug use among teens increased 2-5 times in the last quarter of 2020, compared to the same period of time in 2019.
"As a result, the number of urgent referrals to emergency rooms due to suicide, anxiety, and eating disorders increased between 50-100%. Many of the teens require psychiatric hospitalization, and as such, the rate of psychiatric hospitalizations in youth wards has increased significantly this year, and it is very difficult to find a vacant bed," he said.
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