Overdose + hospital + police notified?

[Eleanor04]

Was in A & E very recently. Through the flimsy curtain, could hear a patient talking to a doctor about a paracetamol overdose after a row with her partner. She had young kids and was seeing a CPN regularly. Doc said that they'd have to alert the police and that the pysch team would be down. (At that point, she should have been taken into a side room, surely.) The woman seemed unhappy about having prolonged medical treatment which apparently was what was required. I left but, as I was doing so, could see a policeman escorting her through A & E to the exit. She was crying - saying that she'd had enough of 'services' etc.

I found this disturbing. I guess by this stage, she'd decided not to stay in hospital but couldn't someone other than a male police officer deal with this situation, at least to start with? I don't know where the pysch team were but what about a nurse, a midwife if available (if postnatal issues were behind her depression) - an on call MHN?

I wanted to rush up to her and tell her about MN, about local support but, very obviously, I couldn't.

Was the hospital correct in saying that in (adult) OD cases, the police must be called in?

Odd

Firstly, I don't get why someone attacked the OP for being prurient/ net-curtaining. You sound like a nice person who was genuinely concerned OP.

Next: I wish healthcare professionals would stop believing that curtains have magic soundproof properties

No, I don't think the police have to be informed at all. Sounds like a nasty empty threat tbh.

I can only agree that she must have refused physical treatment. Which, even if inadvisable (a paracetamol OD risks liver damage), she has the right to do. Unless she was very unwell and sectionable, no-one can force her to have it. (I also don't get why someone thought the poor woman was making the OD up!)
I share your concern about the way this poor woman was treated OP.

And what element said.