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Original poster

Trigger warning - need advice on hospital process after unsuccessful attempt

83 replies

SENsupportplease · 17/01/2026 19:58

My sibling took an intentional OD and nearly died 2 nights ago

She has been in AMU as they stabilise her

Will the hospital automatically perform a mental health assessment and how likely is it they will section her?

Will they listen to our concerns as her family members?

We are terrified that on discharge she will repeat and be successful

OP posts:
ThePure · 17/01/2026 23:49

Legally that is true. People with capacity can indeed do as they want. They can make unwise decisions as we all can.

There are countries where your family members can sign you into an institution as they could in the UK in the Victorian era. Is that what you want us to go back to?

youalright · 17/01/2026 23:52

ThePure · 17/01/2026 23:49

Legally that is true. People with capacity can indeed do as they want. They can make unwise decisions as we all can.

There are countries where your family members can sign you into an institution as they could in the UK in the Victorian era. Is that what you want us to go back to?

Honestly yes watching a family member repeatedly hurt themselves, vanish for days not knowing if they are dead or alive and then them eventually ending there lives after weeks/months of hell absolutely destroys you and the whole family.

Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 00:02

ThePure · 17/01/2026 23:31

I think people on this thread do not understand the term ‘section’. It isn’t an official term anyway but it means to be admitted against your will to a mental health inpatient unit under section 2 or 3 of the mental health act. This would happen following a formal mental health act assessment which requires 2 Drs and an AMHP to agree to deprive the person of their liberty. This is a high bar. In practice it mainly applies to people with psychotic mental illness.

It is not the same as having a mental health assessment of some kind by a single practitioner usually a liaison nurse or the junior Dr on call. This would happen routinely after an overdose. Very few people who have taken an overdose would be ‘sectioned’ as most of them would be able to decide for themselves once the physical effects had passed.

OP if your sister were to be admitted to a mental health unit what do you believe they would do for her that would prevent this from happening again? If she has a medication treatable illness like psychosis then she could be made to take that treatment in hospital. However if she has the kind of illness (like for instance a personality disorder) that requires long term psychotherapy then being admitted to hospital will not achieve this. Whether she is offered admission to hospital will depend mainly on whether they think they have any treatment to offer in that setting that will be of help to her. This will be much more of the determinant than a lack of beds. There will always be a bed found for someone with a treatable disorder who cannot be managed in the community.

I believe mum as nearest relative has or will be requesting a formal mental health assessment with the hope of detainment in hospital

so she can be diagnosed

she has been awaiting adhd meds so maybe that

maybe stop her from attempting again while putting get her a care package

stop her going home to a lonely squalid house with no support or money

she ODd on nortryptaline (plus a couple of other meds) which is prescribed to her, do they need to reassess her meds?

OP posts:
Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 00:03

ThePure · 17/01/2026 23:49

Legally that is true. People with capacity can indeed do as they want. They can make unwise decisions as we all can.

There are countries where your family members can sign you into an institution as they could in the UK in the Victorian era. Is that what you want us to go back to?

Yes

i want her kept alive and forced to take help so she can get therapy and the support she has rejected for years so her next 50 years can be happy

OP posts:
Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 00:04

ThePure · 17/01/2026 23:39

If she is not married then the eldest of her parents is her nearest relative under the MHA and they can make a request to the AMHP to undertake a mental health act assessment however the AMHP is at liberty to decline to do the assessment and they will decline if the person is agreeing to a less restrictive form of treatment eg a community crisis team. On the facts you have listed here (impulsive overdose due to social stressor) I think admission to a mental health hospital is an unlikely outcome and you would be better off requesting the community crisis team as this is a much more possible outcome. However of course she will get an assessment from the liaison mental health team and they will be best placed to determine what will be the most helpful action.

It’s her third overdose

this is the worst one

it’s her standard response to relationship breakdown

She has said she will repeat

OP posts:
Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 00:07

begonia27 · 17/01/2026 23:35

I volunteer as a Samaritan, and unfortunately people are often discharged horrifyingly early and with no meaningful support - even when they are asking for it. If your sister is likely to lie and minimise, I would realistically think that she will be discharged as soon as she is physically fit for discharge with a bare minimum of support - quite possibly just a flag to the GP. If her partner / ex partner can document that she has said she will attempt again, then I would get them to create a written statement to that effect, add your concerns and those of any other family members, and request that they be presented to her consultant / whoever is going to carry out the assessment on Monday. If possible, request that you meet with them following their meeting with your sister to discuss their proposed plan, or that they call you to discuss. The reality is that if your sister is determined, it’s likely to be very hard to keep her safe without family supervision 24/7, and that’s probably not realistic. She is very unlikely to be sectioned. I’m so sorry, OP. This must be incredibly difficult. Samaritans would be really happy to support you - we are there for anyone affected by suicide or related issues, and a chat with a volunteer might help you to think through the options.

I will try and do these things

its terrible feeling so helpless

OP posts:
Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 00:09

Oh family could and would happily supervise 24/7

They could and would do anything to help

she won’t have it

despite the partner saying this was down to the break up and she often threatens it and it’s a pattern

and I’ve been the main one supporting her these last months as she rejected parents

tonight she told me that “I played a huge part” in her attempt

wish the ward hadn’t given her her phone back

OP posts:
ThePure · 18/01/2026 00:17

I know this will come across as harsh but you asked about process and I know about it so I am telling you. I am afraid you will be disappointed about the admission. It just isn’t a likely outcome.

Things you will NOT get in a mental health hospital
an ADHD diagnosis or ADHD medication
A care package
rehousing
money/ benefits

Things you would get
Short term containment (but only for as long as she is there which might be a few days to a few weeks)
a medication review
possibly a diagnosis of some kind but not a very sophisticated one.

yes they should take the nortriptyline away (was it for depression or for pain?)

The medication review and the diagnostic review could just as well be done by the community crisis team so really it’s only the short term containment that admission is adding and I doubt that will be seen as sufficient reason to admit. I might be wrong but I am just telling you because you asked and to temper your expectations.

Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 00:18

I appreciate you telling me about process

im autistic, I need all the facts and information

OP posts:
Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 00:21

She has diagnosis it’s just the system is failing her on the meds

We will arrange all care just need someone to make her take it

we have everything she needs but she will not take it

i am not sure why she was prescribed nortriptyline, she still has 16 pills at her house plus tegretol (ex partners) and something else I can’t remember the name of

I think she will go home and this will all repeat only next time maybe she won’t SOS or maybe we won’t find out

OP posts:
ThePure · 18/01/2026 00:23

What she sounds as though she really needs is a long term therapy such as DBT to deal with her relationship and abandonment issues. It seems as though you do realise that from what you have said. This cannot be forced on a person and is not available in a general psych ward.

I do sympathise with how hard this must be. Take care of yourself and don’t take too much to heart what she is saying as she is just lashing out in an emotionally dysregulated state.

SharkPants · 18/01/2026 00:31

I have experience of the mental health system and sectioning via a close relative. Honestly, it's the most heartbreaking and infuriating process. I really struggled to get anyone to take my concerns seriously until a huge amount of damage had been caused.
My advice is to document everything, pass concerns in writing onto PALS, and the mental health team at the hospital. In writing, it is harder to dismiss.
I will not be surprised if she is sent away. It's a tick box exercise in my area of the country - if you say you're ok, then that's fine, off you go.
Pass on what she has said she intends to do and ask them what you are supposed to do. They may possibly put her under a CRISIS team.
I feel so awful for you all, I've been in a similar position myself and i know it's heartbreaking. Sending my very best wishes to you all.

Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 00:34

Thank you all

OP posts:
MonsterMunched · 18/01/2026 09:29

In our case the in patient mental health term from the hospital assessed on the ward. They offered either discharge to the mental health unit or discharge home to the crisis team. We chose voluntary admission.

During that the meds were adjusted and my loved one was safe and contained (could leave the ward with me). There was no counselling or therapy. They were then discharged home to the crisis team who visited three times- were useless- and discharged to the community mental health team who added my loved one to a waiting list. This was despite being told that the crisis team would support during the gap between the ward and the community team.

All very frustrating and no continuity between the wards and different teams- it was very much pass the parcel.

Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 14:59

She has just walked out of hospital
disconnected her drips

wat now?

no proper discharge

Apparently she has been admitted to MH hospital a few times and absconded

OP posts:
ThePure · 18/01/2026 15:41

They might report her missing to police if they feel she lacks capacity. Or you could if she doesn’t go home and you are worried about her.
She will need the plastic tubing taking out of her arm by someone at some point. The GP or practice nurse could do that.
Or you could call 111 option 2 mental health line if you know where she is and you think she would agree to have a mental health assessment in the community. There won’t be much they can do if she won’t agree but they would listen to your concerns at least.

Sidebeforeself · 18/01/2026 15:49

Im sorry to hear this. Must be awful for you. But nobody can “make her” comply.Even if they manage to stabilise her (in a residential facility or as an out patient) getting better for the next 50 years as you describe it will require a huge and sustained effort on her part.

I think you need to accept the fact that she still has agency in her own life and she may well be too ill to make the right decisions. That’s doesn’t necessarily mean she will take her own life, but it might mean her mental health remains volatile.

Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 15:51

She has been reported to police and they are bringing her back where she is being put on a section five

We have found out there have been multiple attempts with multiple hospitalisations and sectioning

several of which she has absconded from

she has been in MH hospital before

She now absolutely hates me

I’m at a loss

OP posts:
Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 15:52

She is going to take her own life that is obvious

looking at the records it’s worse every time

OP posts:
ThePure · 18/01/2026 16:18

s5,2 is a 72 hour holding power to give time for a mental health act assessment to take place. It may or may not lead to a longer S2 or 3 detention.

If she has been detained a number of times before and nothing has changed then it is questionable whether it would be any more helpful this time. The treatment she needs is DBT so look into whether this is offered locally and how she can access it. She would need to want to do it but it would not hurt to offer her info.

If (as it sounds like) she has a personality disorder then in fact many people do not die by suicide despite making multiple attempts but rather they do eventually get better and find some more stability either with the help of therapy or even without.

https://www.borderlinepersonalitydisorder.org/most-accurate-article-on-bpd-we-have-recently-read-kudos/

Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 18:59

It’s not just her potentially dying
its what the multiple attempts are going to do to those around her

OP posts:
Original poster
SENsupportplease · 18/01/2026 19:00

She is accepting nothing from any family member now - she won’t take advice from me

blaming us for her attempt

blaming us that her ex p isn’t there

withdrawn all consent so the medics aren’t telling us anything

has had our mum removed from the ward

we know she is with the MH team but no idea if they will keep her in

OP posts:
ThePure · 18/01/2026 19:05

I think you all need to somehow detach a bit for your own sanity in that case. Treat it as you would if it was alcohol or drug addiction. You cannot be responsible for another adults safety or happiness in the end. She has made it clear she does not want anything from you so you will have to respect that. Just leave the door open for her to come back to you if she changes her mind but only give what you are able to.

ThePure · 18/01/2026 19:07

The nearest relative (eldest parent if not married) has a statutory right to be consulted when an MHA assessment takes place and to be informed of the outcome but it does not mean you can change the outcome.

MissMoneyFairy · 18/01/2026 19:11

Is your mum her legal nearest relative, that's a mental health term and she has rights in that role. Sadly people can still end their life if they are determined despite everyone's best efforts. If she is found to be at risk to herself the 5,2 may go onto a section 2 or 3, which would be as an inpatient. For now I'd not visit or push her, let the mh team assess her and come up with a plan. She's got a mh history which they will be aware of.