Teens experience 'fear and harm' in secure mental health unit for disabled adultsIAIN MCGREGOR/STUFF Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft says it is "highly concerning and has been a serious issue for some time now" that youth are admitted to adult wards. The admissions breach the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC) and Ministry of Health (MOH) guidelines, which state children should only be treated alongside adults as a last resort and for the shortest period possible. In an October email, head of mental health Toni Gutschlag wrote that a young person had been "living for many months in a secure facility for adults because of a lack of secure disability services for young people". "Young people have experienced fear and harm in the AT&R service, often being witness to violence," she wrote. A MOH spokesman said the ministry was unaware of any person under the age of 18 being placed in a secure disability support service for adults.

Source: Stuff December 17, 2017 04:52 UTC