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Iceland’s child mental health services relocation sparks concern over cost-cutting and care quality

Friday 12th 2024 on 13:20 in  
Iceland

The decision to move child mental health services from Akureyri Hospital to the Health Institution of Northern Iceland is about cost-cutting, not improving services, according to the executive director of Geðhjálp. Icelandic children are faring worse than before, and a response is needed.

The services provided by the child and adolescent mental health team at Akureyri Hospital will be shifted to the Health Institution of Northern Iceland (HSN) on 1 October. The hospital stated that the move will enhance services and continuity for children and young people in North and East Iceland under the auspices of HSN. However, Geðhjálp has expressed concerns about these changes.

“They decide to shut down the child and adolescent mental health team at the hospital. A team that has been operating since the child psychiatrist stopped working over ten years ago,” says Grímur Atlason, executive director of Geðhjálp.

“When it is shut down, some group will have to seek services elsewhere or receive poorer service. How the news was presented, in addition to what we know about the case, is based on ideas of cost-cutting. That’s what we’re worried about,” says Grímur.

The Akureyri Hospital will continue to handle emergencies, while HSN will handle mild and moderate cases. Grímur says that with these changes, steps are being taken backward in mental health services. The team at Akureyri Hospital has been built up over the last decade and it looked like it would continue to strengthen.

According to Grímur, the shift in part of the services is actually preventing continuity. It would be better for the children to be in the same environment. The HSN is supposed to serve both North and East Iceland.

Grímur stresses that it is normal for the hospital to have to respond to cost-cutting demands, but the authorities must respond to the problem. Medication use among children has increased, and their mental health has worsened in recent years. Iceland is falling behind in mental health matters.

The National Audit Office report shows that 25-30% of all health issues are mental health issues, but the funding allocated to this category is just under 5%.

“This shows in black and white that we have been putting too little money into mental health for decades. Now we have to change that,” he says.

“Especially after Covid, we are seeing indications that children are faring worse. We don’t want that, and we should therefore be focusing on them,” says Grímur.