Introduction
During the COVID 19 pandemic children and young people (CYP) faced significant restrictions. The virus and restrictions also affected how health services could function, including mental ...health. Research analysing the COVID 19 pandemic is important to ensure dynamic and resilient service design in case of future national emergencies.
Objectives
To investigate the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on CYP psychiatric admission trends during lockdowns 1 (started 26 March 2020) and 2 (started 20 November 2020) of the COVID 19 pandemic in England.
Methods
Routinely collected, retrospective, English, administrative data looking at the CYP hospital admissions, length of stay and patient demographics were analysed using an interrupted time series analysis to compare pre-pandemic service use with service use during COVID 19 lockdowns 1 and 2. The analysis used an ordinary least squares (OLS) approach with Newey–West standard errors to handle autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity.
Results
Table 1.
Patient characteristics in the entire sample (n=6,250)
Variable
Pre-pandemic
Post-pandemic
Total sample
(n=1,156)
(n=94)
(n=6,250)
Mean age at admission (SD) Median; IQR
15.3 (1.7) 16;3
15.6 (1.6) 16;2
15.3 (1.7) 16;3
Gender
Female
70%
72%
70%
Missing
1%
2%
1%
BAME background
Yes
18%
18%
18%
Missing
7%
6%
7%
Looked after
Yes
11%
8%
11%
Missing
14%
13%
14%
In full education
Yes
43%
34%
43%
Missing
35%
47%
35%
Mean number of admissions per patient (SD) Median; IQR
1.7 (1.2) 1;1
1.2 (0.6) 1;0
1.7 (1.2) 1;1
Mean length of stay (SD) Median; IQR n
93 (94) 68;94 6,065
65 (65) 43;77 71
93 (94) 67;94 6,136
Mean number of out-of-area admissions per patient (SD) Median; IQR
0.48 (0.8) 0;1
0.33 (0.6) 0;1
0.48 (0.80) 0;1
SD: standard deviation; IQR: Interquartile range
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Conclusions
During lockdown 1 and 2, psychiatric admissions for CYP were fewer and shorter. The rise in admissions for more deprived CYP and looked after children suggests these CYP may have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Disclosure of Interest
None Declared
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ABSTRACT
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