Minister Løhde Highlights Child Psychiatry Wait Issue

Interior and Health Minister Sophie Løhde calls the long waiting times in child and youth psychiatry in Denmark unacceptable. There is an urgent need for change due to difficulties in recruiting and retaining psychiatric staff, which hampers the ability to comply with patient rights. A four-year Rigsrevisionen report highlighted that tens of thousands of children and youths under 18 had their right to timely assistance violated. In 71% of cases, patients were not diagnosed within the required timeframe, totaling nearly 28,000 affected individuals from 2019-2022. Løhde mentions a newly formed advisory committee aimed at rethinking and enhancing the rights of young patients in psychiatric care.