Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask why my niece wasn’t admitted to hospital

90 replies

Youareenoughasyouare · 26/07/2019 08:22

My niece who’s 17 took a small overdose at the beginning of this week. She was assessed by camhs at a&e where she told them she still felt very low. Aibu to think she should have been admitted to a mental health unit? So she’s safe?

OP posts:
PurpleDaisies · 26/07/2019 08:53

Lack of funding.

Hope she gets the follow up she needs. Flowers

endofthelinefinally · 26/07/2019 08:53

There is virtually no mental health care for anybody .
What there is is extremely variable.
TBH, I would regard being admitted to a psychiatric ward as a last resort. They are not nice places to be.
If there was a choice, and if funding was available, I would prefer good community care and support.
I speak as someone who has worked in psychiatric hospitals and experienced serious mental health issues in my own family.
People with mental health problems need to feel safe and I suppose in your niece's case the professionals felt she would be best with her family.
I am sorry, it is so hard when there is so little help available.

jennymanara · 26/07/2019 08:54

But it isn't lack of funding. She is better off at home. Although she should get follow up support.

AnxietyFarts · 26/07/2019 08:54

To be honest, admission is rare, partly due to scarcity of beds. My last overdose, I took three times more than what is considered a 'dangerous dose'. I came in by ambulance, had charcoal and a drip and stayed overnight. Once everything was out of my system, they discharged me to get the train home alone in my pyjamas. Mental health services are definitely lacking to say the least.

WhatTheAbsoluteFuck · 26/07/2019 08:56

There is a major lack of funding. And beds.

There are no services for early intervention. There’s no way to nip these things in the bud before teenagers seriously harm themselves. Voice of bitter experience here Sad

Only when they are in extreme crisis. And by then the damage is already done.

LakieLady · 26/07/2019 08:56

When MH services are so stretched that people in severe psychotic states spend almost 72 hours in police cells before being shipped off to the nearest available psych bed, over 100 miles away, I'm surprised that anyone is wondering why someone wasn't admitted following "a small overdose".

MH services, both children's and adults, are criminally under-resourced. KPIs mean that resources are thrown at things that are easy to measure, like waiting times in A&E or for surgery, cancer survival rates etc. Successful MH outcomes are about things that didn't happen: suicides prevented, admissions prevented by good community work. You can't measure or count stuff that hasn't happened*, so preventative work gets starved of funds.

*Well, you can monitor trends over the long term, but no government can be arsed to do that, because they only think in 5-year terms.

NotMyRealName123 · 26/07/2019 08:58

I don't think funding is the issue in this case at all, she was seen and assessed by CAMHS and assessed as not being a risk to herself or others. Therefore there was no need to be admitted (it would have been to a general ward rather than a MH facility anyway) and could be followed up in the community and as an out patient (as is preferred).

The only reason she would need to be admitted would be if CAMHS weren't available to review so would need to wait until the next day OR if CAMHS felt she did pose a risk to herself or others

MrsGrammaticus · 26/07/2019 09:05

My DD is mentally ill with depression, self harm and suicidal ideation. We've been to A&E and had to just walk out. We were told by A&E to just pop into Costa have a but of a family chat and go home - everything will be alright. It is hard, but we've found

  • Meds - get her to a gp/psych referral to get started on AD's....but be prepared for first week to be worse due to side effects.
  • Papyrus / Samaritans - ensure SHE has access to a good phone line to talk.
  • Safe Havens - look up where your nearest one is.
  • Remove all knives, meds, ropes, ligatures and Strong liquor from the house
  • family need to talk to her....tell her she's loved and NOT a burden, ever.
  • keep her busy - walks, puzzles, eat, drink.
  • GP - try and get psychological referral or pay private if you must and can afford. Get the ball rolling asap.
  • tell her she will recover, everyone's looking out for her, getting support.
Good luck! I am there right now. It's v v tough 💐
banskuwansku · 26/07/2019 09:06

15-20 years ago they admitted after overdoses and self harm. It was also easier to get help. I have an illness that I have had for twenty years. The support I get now isn't too good.

MrsGrammaticus · 26/07/2019 09:07

This sounds daft but a good reading book has helped DD. Being left alone with bad thoughts is not good.....anything that keeps the mind busy is v v good.

Fallofrain · 26/07/2019 09:07

I agree that its not just a funding issue. The reason that funding is diverted away from acute beds is that they arent the answer to lots of things.

However i think it does mean that the changes in treatments etc havent bewn communicated that well, people tend to expect that the treatment will happen in a hospital or look like xyz and are suprised when people arent admitted and feel "palmed off" when offered crisis teams etc.

I think theres lots of things where we encourage people to seek mental health support but havent prepared them for what kind of help that might be.

Often we here "talking to someone" or "counselling" as the answer to everything so when people aren't accepted by mental health teams or admitted they feel its because they haven't been listened to

AnnaMagnani · 26/07/2019 09:14

15-20 years ago when I was working in A+E we didn't admit all the overdoses and self harm. They got similar to as described above - screening for the serious ones, everyone else sent home. Only a selection got mental health support as well depending on circumstances.

And everyone was rude to the self-harmers Sad

Carthage · 26/07/2019 09:15

Listen to MrsGrammaticus. She's spot on. And also get a private counsellor who specialises in young people with suicidal tendencies.

Yestermo · 26/07/2019 09:16

Your poor niece will be better off at home with lots of proactive support. I've spent a few weeks inpatient at various psych wards and they are not places that.make you better. They are scary noisy, disorienting places. There is zero counselling, little to do other than watch loud tv with drugged up people. There are outbursts or violence and people in psychotic states. Not fun and not rehabilitative. The MH services in this country are sure. They rely heavily on medicating everyone so they are manageable.
I instead would work with her to improve her wellbeing through good diet, avoiding social media, increasing exercise, daily meditation, finding good support groups, counselling or psychotherapy, daily walks, finding things to look forward to, discussing how life ebbs and flows. I hope she finds some peace.

Original poster
Youareenoughasyouare · 26/07/2019 09:17

She did say she wants to take her own life.
The number she took was was the daily amount but all In one go. Thank you for all replies it is very worrying.

OP posts:
MyOtherProfile · 26/07/2019 09:23

Again hearing her say she wants to take her own life is very worrying and upsetting for the family but so many teens say it every day. It doesn't necessarily mean they're about to do something really drastic. If she just took a few pills she's a long way from that point. The issue now is getting her support. If the family can afford private counseling I would start with that plus a GP appt.

Original poster
Youareenoughasyouare · 26/07/2019 09:27

She’s under camhs and has cbt

OP posts:
ZeroFuchsGiven · 26/07/2019 09:29

My Sister was admitted to hospital after trying to take her own life, She told them if they let her out she would do it again, The MH team assessed her but said she didn't have any mental health issues as she knew exactly what she was saying. 5 weeks ago she succeeded in taking her own life. I wish I could answer your question op but I do not have the answer.

I hope your niece gets the help she deserves Flowers

Gilead · 26/07/2019 09:31

Whilst it is worrying, the daily amount isn't that great. (My dd took 40 paracetamol and other drugs besides, along with a bottle of booze, she was admitted). Camhs need to be spurred. on to increase their current involvement and crisis team should be doing daily visits for a while.

TheFirstOHN · 26/07/2019 09:33

they discharged me to get the train home alone in my pyjamas.

That's a bit harsh! Sorry that happened to you.

stucknoue · 26/07/2019 09:40

There's only a certain number of mental health beds and where a young person has support (parents etc), a safe place to live and isn't a danger to others, sending them home with community support is normal. Sectioning is reserved for those in imminent danger to themselves or others, it goes on their permanent record and could affect certain career options, not to be taken lightly. I've spent many nights in a&e with dd, last time the police drove me there (and home, they were lovely) but she is no threat so cannot be deprived of her liberty. A voluntary admission is a possibility but I doubt she will meet the threshold.

StarWanderer · 26/07/2019 09:40

Place marking for a friend who is going through similar with her daughter. It's such sad reading.

NoNoNoOohmaybe · 26/07/2019 09:40

Admission is a real last resort, often patients pick up more stresses and maladaptive coping strategies from each other.

As awful as it was it sounds like a cry for help as she took a relatively low number.

Thanks for you all, must be very difficult.

TheFirstOHN · 26/07/2019 09:42

The list provided by MrsGrammaticus is really good advice.

We insisted on certain things each day:
Get up before 11am.
Take meds (supervised).
Have a shower and get dressed (joggers are fine).
Eat at regular times.
At least every other day: leave the house e.g. a short walk around the block (accompanied if he was very unwell).

Attendance at CAMHS appointments (at that point 1-2 times per week) was non-negotiable.

During school term time, we encouraged attendance at school for at least part of each day.

Beyond that we made no demands until he started to improve.

museumum · 26/07/2019 09:46

I have a friend who was on the borderline for admission but her psychologist explained that MH inpatient units can be very scary and unsettling places due to the extreme experiences some of the other patients are going through. My friends psychologist felt being around the other patients would further destabilise my friend. I think she was right unfortunately.

Swipe left for the next trending thread