Mount Carmel Hospital (Photo: Miguela Xuereb)
An urgent investigation has been demanded after a 15-year-old boy was placed in a mental health institution primarily due to the absence of suitable government-run residential care facilities.
Andrew Azzopardi, an academic, broadcaster, and activist, has written to the Commissioner for Mental Health requesting an immediate probe into the case, warning that the situation “runs counter to national mental health policy, which rightly discourages unnecessary institutionalisation.”
In his letter, copied to the Commissioner for Children, the health minister, and the social policy minister, Azzopardi revealed the child is now spending his third birthday at the Young People’s Unit (YPU), with only intermittent community-based placement attempts that have “unfortunately not endured.”
He expressed grave concern that whilst the YPU provides “exemplary care”, the system risks “anchoring him in a clinical setting, limiting his future capacity to reintegrate into a community-based environment”. He emphasised the child had previously resided successfully in a children’s residential home and demonstrated the ability to cope in such settings.
“Despite presenting as calm and settled within the YPU, no alternative placement has yet been identified or actioned,” Azzopardi wrote, adding that staff believe the child could successfully integrate into the community with appropriate support and transition programmes.
The case exposes what has been described as a “stark disconnect between aspirational policy and operational reality” in a country projected to invest approximately €2.5 billion in the social policy and children’s sector in 2026 alone.
The placement is not driven by clinical necessity but by a lack of suitably prepared residential homes, Azzopardi said, adding: “Using an inpatient mental health unit as a contingency placement places undue strain on him.”
His letter outlined ten recommended actions, including urgent identification of community-based alternatives, strengthened coordination between ministries, and establishment of a specialised unit for young people with serious behavioural issues—a facility he noted has been “long called for”.
The academic requested feedback within three working days, warning the situation “signals a breakdown in coordinated planning between social services and mental health services” and risks breaching principles of least-restrictive, child-centred care.
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