Mentally ill children in Zurich should be better cared for
healthcare
Popular initiative calls for shorter waiting times for treatment for mentally ill children and young people in the canton of Zurich
With a cantonal popular initiative, the Junge Mitte of the canton of Zurich wants to improve the care options for mentally ill children and young people. Those affected should no longer have to wait months for treatment.
Mentally ill children and young people in the canton of Zurich sometimes have to wait months for treatment.
Children and young people in the canton of Zurich would have to wait up to 12 months for a first appointment for clarification by a psychiatrist, said the Junge Mitte canton of Zurich on Tuesday. This is far too long and promotes chronic disease progression that is more difficult to treat.
The Government Council approved almost 8 million francs to improve care last year. However, Junge Mitte does not consider this to be sufficient. She calls for measures to prevent mentally ill children and young people from being treated by specialists within 4 weeks. In very urgent cases, treatment should begin immediately.
Initiative text is still in progress
The party has not yet submitted an initiative text. It is clear, however, that the referendum should be discovered in the form of a general suggestion in order to give politicians leeway to find a solution. The collection of signatures is scheduled to begin in September.
The care situation for mentally ill children and young people was already tense before the corona pandemic and has continued to worsen during it. The topic has already caused advances in the cantonal council.
The Kantonsspital Winterthur (KSW) announced last week that it had increased the number of inpatient places for mentally ill children and young people from 6 to 12. (sda)