Mental health experts say it is ''certainly not appropriate'' that 16-year-olds continue to be hospitalised in adult mental health units in Canberra, more than eight years after the government acknowledged a lack of specialised inpatient services was impacting on the safety of young people.
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In the year to October 1, 22 people aged 16 and 17 were patients in adult mental health facilities in Canberra - nine male and 13 female.
In the lead-up to last year's ACT election, the government promised a new, $2 million six-bed adolescent mental health service, with the money due to be spent by the end of the election cycle, but it was not included in the forward estimates of this year's budget.
A spokeswoman for the health directorate said the government was committed to delivering the facility, however, it was subject to future budget discussions.
''Any future location and timeframe for delivery will also depend on these budget deliberations in coming years,'' she said.
In the absence of a mental health ward for young people, teenagers are hospitalised in the general medical adolescent ward of the Canberra Hospital or in adult units.
ACT Mental Health Consumer Network executive officer Dalane Drexler said if an adolescent mental health ward was established, more mentally ill young people would come forward for treatment.
Canberra's Step Up Step Down youth mental health facility did not meet the needs of all patients and, while some young people might prefer to be hospitalised in the adult ward, it should not be their only option, she said.
''You've got young people who are placed in with adults, young people who may be experiencing their first episode of mental illness - it can be a very scary place for adults [let] alone young people,'' she said.
Nic Hubbard, service integration manager at Headspace ACT, said being treated in an adult setting could make young people feel unsafe, uncomfortable and impact on their treatment.
''There's something about being with your peers that is really important when you're recovering from an acute mental health condition - to help contribute a sense of normalising and hopefulness that you can recover with the support of your peers,'' she said.
The office of ACT Public Advocate Anita Phillips paid eight visits to seven 16 and 17-years-olds in the adult mental health ward at the Canberra Hospital last financial year and one visit to a young person at Calvary's 2N adult ward.
Ms Phillips said while it was often not appropriate for people under 18 to be hospitalised in the adult mental health unit, she acknowledged the size of the jurisdiction in the ACT made it very difficult for the government to meet the different needs of small numbers of people.
But she said there was a need for a small facility where acutely mentally ill young people could be better accommodated.
In September 2005, then health minister Simon Corbell announced the government was considering building a mental health precinct at the Canberra Hospital, including 20 acute beds for young people aged 13 to 25, an idea since scrapped.
The government allocated $775,000 in its 2008-09 budget to the design of an adolescent and young adult mental health unit but the project was delayed pending confirmation of where it would be located.
The health spokeswoman said the government spent $121,000 of the amount on site selection consultancy and a design options study was completed in October 2011, but the estimated cost of continuing with the planned unit exceeded earlier estimates.
She said the government was undertaking a feasibility study on how to best deliver adolescent inpatient beds. It was due to be delivered this month.
