RCN welcomes new standards for the care of young people on mental health wards

Published: 30 January 2009

The Royal College of Nursing has welcomed to the launch of new standards which have been developed to help safeguard under-18s placed on adult psychiatric wards. Developed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the standards can be used by staff on adult wards to identify what changes they need to make to make young people safer immediately.

The RCN strongly supported the 2007 amendment to the Mental Health Act that required young people to only be cared for in age appropriate accommodation. These standards address this issue.There was also a resolution at RCN Congress in 2007 which discussed introducing standards to ensure safe and effective transfer from children and young people’s services to adults’ services.

Welcoming the new standards, RCN Mental Health Advisor Ian Hulatt acknowledged that in some circumstances young people cannot be treated in age appropriate accommodation and will be placed in adult wards, as is reflected in the Mental Health Act. However, he added:

“This audit process will enable trusts and nurses to feel secure that when this does happen the client it is in an care setting that can meet their specific needs safely and appropriately."

The standards were commissioned by the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) and were developed by developed in partnership with young service users, their parents and mental health practitioners.