Young People: Self-Harm

Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts

Tuesday 6th December 2016 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the rise in the number of children and young people being treated for self-harm.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Prior of Brampton) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government are aware of the appalling rise in self-harm in children and young people and the misery this reflects. The Government are also acutely aware that self-harm is a leading indicator of risk of suicide and recognise that much more needs to be done to address this issue.

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans]

I thank the Minister for his reply. The research from the World Health Organization shows that around 20% of British 15 year-olds report some sort of self-harm. In the past five years, research shows that hospital admissions associated with self-harm have gone up by nearly 93% among girls and 45% among boys. Having recently visited the outstanding charity selfharmUK, in Luton in my diocese, I have seen what effect a concerted and systematic approach to this problem can have on a very difficult issue, and we need something similar at a national level. Will Her Majesty’s Government commit to publishing guidelines for schools and colleges about preventing and responding to self-harm?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

I think the right reverend Prelate has raised an incredibly important issue. Around 300,000 young people go to A&E every year through self-harm, after cutting or burning themselves very badly. The right reverend Prelate asked about advice and guidance. In 2004, NICE put out explicit guidance that all those people should receive, at the very least, a psychosocial assessment; today, only 53% of those people—young people in the main—receive such an assessment. That means that 100,000-plus people are going to A&E with this very nasty self-harm and are really being sent home with very little. That is quite an indictment of our system and the words that we have about parity of esteem. I entirely take on board exactly what the right reverend Prelate said. There is a lot more we can do, and perhaps in response to subsequent questions I shall try to say what we are doing.