Teenage self-harm rates have doubled in Warwickshire, health report shows

The number of young people in Warwickshire admitted to hospital because they have self-harmed has doubled in the past three years.
Levels of young people self-harming in Warwickshire are higher than the national average.Levels of young people self-harming in Warwickshire are higher than the national average.
Levels of young people self-harming in Warwickshire are higher than the national average.

And almost 18 per cent of pregnant women in the county continue to smoke up until they give birth.

The figures come from the Public Health England (PHE) Child Health Profiles 2014, which were published last week and show that since 2007 to 2010, rates of young people aged ten to 24 admitted to hospital due to self-harm has gone up from 190 per 100,000 to 380 per 100,000 in 2010 to 2013. Nationally, the figure has remained around 380.

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But rates of people under 18 in Warwickshire who have been admitted to hospital due to alcohol consumption have nearly halved from 80 per 100,000 in 2005 to 2006 to 41 per 100,000 in 2012 to 2013, in line with the figures for England.

And 14.1 per cent of children in Warwickshire were classed as living in poverty in 2011, well below the figure of 20.6 per cent for England. Levels of childhood obesity are slightly lower than the national average, with 8.1 per cent of children aged four to five and 16.5 per cent of children aged ten to 11 being classed as obese, compared to nine and 18 per cent for England respectively.

The report showed that in 2012, there were 123,700 children in Warwickshire, of which 9.333 (14 per cent) were from minority ethnic groups. In England, 26.7 per cent of children were from minority ethnic groups at this time.

County councillor Bob Stevens, responsible for policy on health, said: “Public health can play a key role in influencing many of these figures. It’s simply not acceptable that about one in five pregnant women in Warwickshire are still smoking at the point of delivery.”

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Dr Helen Duncan, programme director at PHE’s National Child and Maternal Health Intelligence Network, said: “We hope that these resources prove as popular with those working with and for children across the system as they have done in previous years, and help local authorities and health and wellbeing boards with prioritisation and strategic planning in their area.”

To see the full report, visit www.chimat.org.uk/profiles

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