In Reply

We thank our correspondent for his important comments. Our article aimed to put objective facts of triage conditions in child and adolescent psychiatric hospitals out, so as to balance the scandalizing media reporting. The data obviously reflect only a segment—day patient demand on the background of pandemic-related closures was not considered. The hypothesis that this caused greater inpatient need—for example, as a result of chronification—was not discussed. Shifts to inpatient settings did objectively not take place 1:1 on the basis of the confirmed shifts in diagnoses to internalized disorders, even in the outpatient setting (1). We completely agree with the comment that in spite of notable obstacles to inpatient treatment, health care was continuously provided by child and adolescent psychiatry. We further differentiated in a more detailed publication (2) whether the reaction to healthcare needs was satisfactory everywhere, based on regional bed indexes by considering lengths of stay and case numbers. Dr Rüth works in a region with a low bed index and can legitimately say that in his and similarly equipped federal states, a critical perspective on bottlenecks that have developed is indicated.