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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Teenager sectioned - any experience?

47 replies

Perrenial · 29/05/2025 20:28

Looks like my DS 18 might be sectioned tomorrow due to depression / psychosis and other non-related health issues. Anyone experienced this? Any advice? I’m not expecting him to go willingly and I can’t imagine the kind of place he’s going to end up in. Absolutely shitting myself.

OP posts:
Serencwtch · 29/05/2025 21:50

Perrenial · 29/05/2025 21:18

@JennieTheZebra yes he vapes which again I can see him kicking off at not having access to vape whenever he wants!

Will I be able to take food / stuff to occupy him in? All he does is play on the Xbox with his friends which I’m assuming he won’t be allowed to do.

Different trusts have different policies on vapes

The one I've recently been on allowed a specific brand of vape that had to be prescribed. They could be used freely on the ward.

Again policy varies but unlikely to be allowed anything with a plug & devices have to be charged in nurses office.

Some clothing eg belts, the cord on a hoodie, laces may be removed so best don't take them in.

Stuff WILL get lost, stolen & broken so do not take anything valuable.

Wards will vary from being very unpleasant with acutely unwell patients to days when patients sit around together ordering deliveroo, chatting, playing games etc

MaryTheTurtle · 29/05/2025 21:53

He will be safe and will get the treatment he needs. It won’t be easy. It will be worth it.

Serencwtch · 29/05/2025 21:54

CloudyPortal · 29/05/2025 21:06

Oh wow I didn't realise anywhere still had any. Cqc report showed there's still 1300 beds in a shared area, so considering there's about 24000 beds that's still around 5%. Hopefully those units aren't entirely shared wards and they can place people carefully on them depending on disruption level.

Not to mention the people held in a&e (won't be in a room at all - a chair in a corner of waiting room or corridor) , acute medical wards & even police custody whilst waiting for a bed.

A friend just spent 10 days in a S136 'suite' (Cell) completely isolated monitored by oxyvision for 10 days! That's not unusual at all.

Serencwtch · 29/05/2025 21:55

MaryTheTurtle · 29/05/2025 21:53

He will be safe and will get the treatment he needs. It won’t be easy. It will be worth it.

That's quite shockingly naive !!

Sausage1986 · 29/05/2025 21:59

Perrenial · 29/05/2025 20:57

We were trying to go through the private route but following two assessments in the last week, they decided they wanted to admit him but it would cost £8k a week which was double what I was expected so the letter from the Psychiatric Consultant has triggered a meeting with the GP tomorrow.

I really want him to get the help he needs but can only imagine him kicking off with what I assume the restrictions of him being an inpatient will entail.

I work in a MH Crisis team. Depending on where he lives, If he seeing his GP tomorrow he will first be assessed by the crisis team and not straight to a mental health act assessment which determines if he needs detaining under the mental health act/sectioned. In my experience there is a lower threshold for hospital admittance in the private sector and with such massive bed shortages, being admitted or sectioned really is the last resort. There’s also the possibility if he is sectioned, he will have to wait for a bed which can take days or even a week!

I hope he gets the help he needs but remain open minded as a family about support offered by services

CloudyPortal · 29/05/2025 22:07

Serencwtch · 29/05/2025 21:54

Not to mention the people held in a&e (won't be in a room at all - a chair in a corner of waiting room or corridor) , acute medical wards & even police custody whilst waiting for a bed.

A friend just spent 10 days in a S136 'suite' (Cell) completely isolated monitored by oxyvision for 10 days! That's not unusual at all.

I'm surprised at that. Locally to us they transferred our relative off the normal ward within half a day despite originally not having space and still needing medical care (she was being disruptive but not dangerous)

And every other admission she's been found a bed straight away. The furthest was an hour and a half drive, and 3 times into a private one temporarily due to lack of nhs beds, but they've always found somewhere. Though she would leave if they tried to sit her in an a and e chair due to psychosis paranoia and having no awareness of being unwell so I guess that factors in to their decisions if they have a patient who will sit and wait and wants treatment then they'll be lower priority.

Was your friend sectioned within 24/36 hours and then remained in that cell? Otherwise a complaint should be filed as the rules are very strict around time limits for holding without being assessed.

KabukiNoh · 29/05/2025 22:13

Serencwtch · 29/05/2025 21:55

That's quite shockingly naive !!

That’s quite shockingly unhelpful for the OP !!

BraOffPjsOn · 29/05/2025 22:18

Serencwtch · 29/05/2025 21:54

Not to mention the people held in a&e (won't be in a room at all - a chair in a corner of waiting room or corridor) , acute medical wards & even police custody whilst waiting for a bed.

A friend just spent 10 days in a S136 'suite' (Cell) completely isolated monitored by oxyvision for 10 days! That's not unusual at all.

Was it a decommissioned 136 suite? Or had there been police intervention?
My relative was taken to a decommissioned 136 suite as there were no beds and he couldn’t leave the room (had to have a member of staff with him at all times) for his own safety because of the other patients on the ward!

BraOffPjsOn · 29/05/2025 22:20

KabukiNoh · 29/05/2025 22:13

That’s quite shockingly unhelpful for the OP !!

This is a public forum though and people will have had a huge range of experiences. I say this as a family who have been going through the complaints process for a mental health hospital.

Then there is the medication side of things which is a whole other story!

Sausage1986 · 29/05/2025 22:20

@CloudyPortal technically the person @Serencwtch refers to will have been sectioned to the 136 suite so reassessment doesn’t apply. And the others will have been informal admission so no need for reassessment under the act as you can’t detain someone without an identified bed. Someone being held in the 136 suite is not great practice but is happening more and more. I’ve had days on shift waiting for a bed and there hasn’t been any available beds in the NHS or private secto across the whole county! It’s very sad

zeibesaffron · 29/05/2025 22:48

That isn’t how it works @CloudyPortal in the MH hospital I work in - whether you are sectioned or not in the main admission unit you get a single room, no one has a key especially if you are a suicide risk - however corridors are viewed all night and day. If some is high risk they will have a member of staff with them all the time, until the risk is reduced.

Your DC will be on an adult ward. Section 2 is a section that means you can hold someone in a hospital for assessment for up to 28 days, however you cannot ‘force treatment’ but you can assess and support/ encourage. if medication is needed, and the patient is refusing, the section could be reviewed and upped to a section 3, this will be for up to 6 months (with a right to appeal) and whilst you should always try to engage and negotiate treatment compliance, sometimes thats not possible. In this case the staff can hold the patient so that medication can be provided. Once medication is given you should see an improvement fairly soon.

Pack things without strings, and nothing like razors wtc. We allow vapes outside and patients can bring their own foods in but it maybe put in the ward fridge - we mostly allow chocolate and crisps in patients rooms though. we supply teas/ decaf coffee and soft drinks all through the day/night then breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and a drink/ biscuits about 10 at night. There is always fruit available.

Hospitals have to adhere to the least restrictive practice guidelines and provide thereputic activity. Where I work we have OT, physio, therapy and interest clubs like photography. We also have a gym.

The aim will be to get your DC well and get him home - for care to be continued by the community team.

Take care xx

HangerLaneGyratorySystem · 29/05/2025 22:55

If he is sectioned, as @FrogsAndDaffodils says above, make sure he has an IMHA - Independent Mental Health Advocate - appointed to him. Google "IMHA" and then put your county or town to find out who does this in your area; they should be able to offer you advice too.

FunnyHiker · 29/05/2025 23:17

I was sectioned at 17. It was more scary for my family than me, because I wasn't well enough to really follow.

However, I'm glad I was sectioned as it got me well, and ensured that I had things in place to keep well. It is scary, but the staff understand that. They will support your son.

There is a stigma about being sectioned, but honestly it's like any other health condition that needs treatment.

Serencwtch · 30/05/2025 07:23

BraOffPjsOn · 29/05/2025 22:18

Was it a decommissioned 136 suite? Or had there been police intervention?
My relative was taken to a decommissioned 136 suite as there were no beds and he couldn’t leave the room (had to have a member of staff with him at all times) for his own safety because of the other patients on the ward!

The correct term for 136 suite is assessment suite so it's not just used for S136 it's for any emergency admissions so S135, emergency admission from acute hospital eg S5(2) or people bought in under section 2 or 3 from the community whilst they wait for a bed.

The example I was referring to the lady was on a Section 2 & waiting for a bed.

Serencwtch · 30/05/2025 07:28

CloudyPortal · 29/05/2025 22:07

I'm surprised at that. Locally to us they transferred our relative off the normal ward within half a day despite originally not having space and still needing medical care (she was being disruptive but not dangerous)

And every other admission she's been found a bed straight away. The furthest was an hour and a half drive, and 3 times into a private one temporarily due to lack of nhs beds, but they've always found somewhere. Though she would leave if they tried to sit her in an a and e chair due to psychosis paranoia and having no awareness of being unwell so I guess that factors in to their decisions if they have a patient who will sit and wait and wants treatment then they'll be lower priority.

Was your friend sectioned within 24/36 hours and then remained in that cell? Otherwise a complaint should be filed as the rules are very strict around time limits for holding without being assessed.

She was assessed at home & placed on a section 2. There were no beds anywhere in the country.

She was held in the assessment suite until a bed was found. That took 10 days.

Mermaidsarereal · 30/05/2025 15:10

Sending you love ❤️ I have no experience of teenagers being sectioned but my DM was sectioned last year and it was a very hard and worrying time for us all, which we are still feeling the effects of. I would be careful about what you take in for your DS, my mum had a lot of her stuff stolen (clothes, phone, vapes etc.) As others have said, make sure you lable everything you're taking in.

Perrenial · 31/05/2025 10:33

An update following the GP visit. The GP had the letter from the private Consultant advising admission so the GP said he needs to be admitted & surprisingly my DS agreed so he has now been referred to the inpatient team.

I have no idea how long it will take to get him admitted but am trying to focus on getting his clothes washed & dried & preparing as much as possible.

He is very laid back about the whole thing but I do believe reality will hit when he gets in there.

OP posts:
JennieTheZebra · 31/05/2025 10:36

Is he being admitted informally? The rights you have and the rules/restrictions he’ll be under will be slightly different if so. How long it’ll take depends on beds. What’s their plan in the meantime? Hopefully he should be getting regular home visits. Good luck x

Perrenial · 31/05/2025 11:02

@JennieTheZebra the problem is that I wasn’t in the appointment with the GP so don’t have any information. No visits, just told that they’ll be in touch. Very frustrating not knowing what is going on or how long it will take.

OP posts:
Sausage1986 · 31/05/2025 14:48

I think it’s very likely he will be referred to the crisis team who, in most mental health trusts, are the ‘gatekeeper’ for informal admissions. If he has been referred you should have contact within 4 hours

BraOffPjsOn · 31/05/2025 20:29

It’s good he’s on board with it if you’re at that point.
The crisis team may come and assess themselves to see if they think he needs admitting or whether he can be supported from home.

Just keep pushing - the people who keep on their case are the ones who get listened to in the end. When my sibling was going through it - the crisis team took a long time and he was still calling an ambulance out and it still took so long to get anywhere.

Bridgetjonesheart · 31/05/2025 21:24

@Sausage1986 ie, there isn’t any!

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