Mentally ill youths “neglected by health system”

Young people serious mental, social or substance-related problems are neglected by the health system.

This was the conclusion of the “Megna títt lív” (Cope with your life) recommendation commissioned by the health minister last year. The recommendation sought to establish ways to help young people suffering from a variety of mental and social problems.

But nothing has yet been done to address this problem, and the system continues to fail to help these young people, says Tormóður Stórá, the chief psychiatrist at the National Hospital.

The lack of treatment options is not only harmful to the young people concerned; it is a problem for all of society, says Stórá.

He explains that up to 2014, young people with mental problems were sent abroad for treatment, usually to Denmark. But in 2014, the authorities decided to stop sending these patients abroad and rather treat them here in the Faroes.

This has been a failed experiment, says Stórá, because no funding has been earmarked for this purpose.

Translated by prosa.fo