The 16-year-old girl does not want her friends to be informed about her mental health problems. That is why her father testifies anonymously: “She has dark thoughts and cannot give them a place at the moment. She is afraid, so are we, of impulsive reactions, that she would proceed to effective…”. The father struggles and pauses for a moment. “We’ve been in touch everywhere. We ended up at UZ Gent, but there was no crisis bed available. AZ Nikolaas also did not have a crisis bed available. In the meantime, the Cape no longer had a crisis bed available. Then it will stop for our province”, the father continues.
A total of 38 crisis beds have been provided in Flanders, but these are almost always full, according to a survey. “It’s like your house is on fire and the fire department says you’re on a waiting list and have to wait.”
The care after a crisis stay also needs to be improved, according to Eric Schoentjes, psychiatrist at Radar (Netwerk Mental Health Children and Youth East Flanders). “There is often a need for follow-up care, but it is often difficult to organize this within a reasonable period of time.”
Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke acknowledges the problem and invests 35 million euros in more crisis beds. He also wants care providers to work better together so that young people are referred when necessary.
If you have questions about suicide, you can contact the Suicide Line via the toll-free number 1813 or on www.zelfmoord1813.be.