Treatment options for mentally ill youths underway

Social minister Eyðgunn Samuelsen acknowledges that there is a shortage of treatment options for young people with mental illness

This was also 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.

Nothing has been done

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

There may, however, be a light at the end of the tunnel, as the social minister has now set up a working group to speed up the search for a solution to the problem.

“The current situation is unacceptable, which is why I decided at the start of this year to get this project off the ground,” she says. “We are currently recruiting people to fill the various positions required for this project.”

Accommodation

Treatment is only part of the solution. Finding suitable accommodation is also an essential part of a successful treatment process.

“We are in an ongoing dialogue with Landsverk [the Road Authority], and together we are looking at a number of state-owned properties which may prove useful for our purposes,” says Samuelsen.

The project is estimated to cost DKK 4 million, and the minister is confident that this sum will be made available soon.

Translated by prosa.fo