ST Helens has one of the highest rates of self-harm admissions for children in England, a new report has said.

St Helens Safeguarding Children’s Board’s annual report revealed the borough has the second highest rate in the North West for self-harm admissions and the third highest nationwide.

The report says the most common injury in children of all ages who attend A&E is intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to over the counter painkillers, fever medication and anti-rheumatic medication.

According to the report, there were 932 (per 10,000) A&E attendance for unintentional and deliberate injuries in children 0 to 17 in 2017-18.

Hospital admissions for unintentional and deliberate injuries in children 0 to 17 has increased from 165 in 2016-17 to 174.6 in 2017-18.

Data also shows that for children and young people aged 10 to 24, St Helens has the second highest rate for admissions for deliberate self-harm in the North West (99.1).

A council spokesman said reducing levels of self-harm among young people in the borough has been made the ‘highest priority’ by the local authority and St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group, through its partnership work.

“In order to ensure there is a consistent approach which meets the needs of our young people, we are also working with neighbouring boroughs across Cheshire and Merseyside,” the spokesman said.

“We have a range of local initiatives in place aimed at reducing self-harm and providing support to those who are experiencing it, including the Barnardo’s Online Support Service (BOSS), and our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) which respectively provide services such as self-help, online and face-to-face counselling, and specialist help for young people with mental health difficulties, and their families.

“Work is also underway to implement a new model for children’s mental health in St Helens called THRIVE, which covers self-harm.

“THRIVE is proposed as a radical shift in the way that services are conceptualised and potentially delivered. The aim is for a range of different practitioners to be equipped with the skills and knowledge required to provide support for children and young people.

“Alongside these initiatives, we are focusing our efforts on supporting schools to develop emotionally healthy environments and have developed a comprehensive programme of training for school staff and programmes delivered in schools to promote positive mental health.”