Children in grip of self-harm epidemic

The shocking figures also show that more than 160,000 people aged over 16 have also been hospitalised north of the Border after intentionally harming themselves since 1999.

Ross Finnie, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, who obtained the self-harm figures using Parliamentary Questions, described them as "desperate cry for help" and demanded ministers take immediate action.

Finnie said: "Our figures show an astonishing number of people have been hospitalised after self-harming over the last decade. That so many people have self-harmed to such an extent that hospital treatment was required, is a desperate cry for help and ministers must respond. Over the last ten years, mental health support has increasingly been provided in the community. But an Audit Scotland report published last year warned that there are long waits to access certain services, particularly services for younger and older people, and there is a lack of out-of-hours and crisis services in some areas."

Finnie added that the report's finding were backed up by a more recent report into child and adolescent mental health which warned about the prevalence of self-harm and the lack of systematic support.

"Given our figures show that over 7,000 young people were forced to seek hospital treatment after self-harming, the long waits for youth-specific services are extremely concerning," he said.

"Audit Scotland also found that the way that money was distributed did not reflect the shift from hospital care to community care. This needs to change to make sure that those who at risk of self-harming are identified and helped in their community before they end up in hospital."

The Scottish Government said yesterday that a 5.5 million sum already announced to boost mental health services would include funds for specialist staff to work with self-harm patients.

Shona Robison, public health minister, said the extra funding would lead to an estimated 20 per cent increase in staff.

She said: "We are aware of the extent of the issue of self-harming and are committed to tackling this. That is why we are carrying out work with our partners to develop effective methods of prevention, information and offer guidance to those delivering services for self-harm. We are committed to improving access to both community and in-patient mental health services and we see increasing the specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services workforce as key to this."

The official figures show that admission rates from health boards during 2008-9 show a total of 563 children aged under 16 were admitted to hospital for self-harming.

The highest number admitted by health boards was in Lothian with 97 cases, followed by Glasgow and Clyde with 91 and Grampian with 90 cases.

Previous reports have revealed that up to 850,000 Scots – one in six – experience mental health problems at any one time, with certain people, such as those living in deprived areas, particularly at risk.

Billy Watson, chief executive of Scottish Association of Mental Health, said self-harm was almost always symptomatic of a deeper problem and should always be taken seriously. There was a need to promote a supportive culture within schools and other places where young people go as well as provide support for both paid workers and parents about self-harm.

Self-harming has become an increasingly high-profile subject with celebrities such as Olympic athlete Kelly Holmes admitting to hurting themselves. Holmes revealed she began cutting her wrists and chest with a scissors just a year before her double gold victory in Athens after injuries threatened to ruin her career.

Holmes described how she locked herself in her bathroom and turned on the taps so no-one could hear her crying while she self-harmed.

"I made one cut for every day I'd been injured. With each one I felt I was punishing myself, but at the same time I felt a sense of release that drove me to do it again and again. The whole episode was nothing more than a cry of despair."

Dr Mary Brown, lecturer in psychology at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, said the growth of the internet and group psychology also played a part in self-harm. "With self-harm we are witnessing the effects of what is called the "risky-shift phenomenon" on the internet. If someone was by themselves they might say, 'Oh, I feel so miserable I could cut my wrists' but not actually do it.

"But the risky-shift phenomenon means that subconsciously people move each other along to do more extreme things. It is a form of 'group think' which has been observed in groups of people and partly explains why a group of drunken yobs will attack an individual while a lone drunk might not attack anyone at all."

Brown said fragmented families and difficulties in forming friendships had also led to the rise in young people becoming dependent on online communities. "There is evidence to support the view that more young people are coming under the influence of strangers."