Nearly 200 children and teenagers in Iceland who suffer from mental illnesses are on waiting lists for rooms in the National Hospital’s psychiatric ward for children and teenagers (BUGL).
According to RÚV, suicidal 10-year-olds have been sent home due to lack of space.
Last autumn Health Minister Siv Fridleifsdóttir announced plans to improve the service for children and teenagers suffering from mental illnesses and to enlarge BUGL’s facilities, but the situation has not improved.
“The situation has clearly worsened regarding waiting lists during the last one or two years,” Ólafur Gudmundsson, senior physician at BUGL, said.
Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde told RÚV the situation was not acceptable and claimed steps had already been taken to improve it.
