Satisfactory results for youth psychiatric wards

(CS) Youth psychiatric wards across Luxembourg were found to be in good condition though some improvements remain possible, according to ombudsman Marc Fischbach.

Fischbach examined the child psychiatry unit at the Centre Hospitalier Luxembourg (CHL), as well as the youth psychiatric ward in Kirchberg hospital and the neuropsychiatric unit for adolescents at the hospital in Ettelbrück (CHNP).

It is stated that all wards are in very good condition and well suited for children and teenagers.

Nonetheless, the report also issued a few recommendations. One suggestion concerns the windows in the CHNP ward, which cannot be opened independently by the minors for fear of suicide attempts. Nonetheless, Fischbach concluded that windows needed to be opened for better ventilation, for example when the patients are not in their rooms.

Additionally, controls during the night were criticised as they might disrupt the sleeping patterns of the young. However, the CHNP notes that these controls are necessary due to sleeping disorders, suicide risk as well as attempts to leave the ward.

In the other two hospitals, it was highlighted by Fischbach that attempts should be made to place teenagers of similar age and affected by similar afflictions with each other. Due to a shortage of single rooms, as well as to develop better social skills patients in these wards are often placed in double rooms.

Fischbach was assisted by a youth psychology expert from Aachen, Germany in his evaluation.