"My daughter's attempted suicide"

My 16 year old daughter took an overdose of various medications 2 months ago. Thankfully she was found and taken to hospital by ambulance. As she refused treatment they had to be treated against her will as she were deemed not to have capacity to make this decision. The A&E staff were very good and understanding whilst dealing with the abusive behviour of my daughter who was lashing out at anyone who tried to treat her.

She was admitted to an admitting ward and assessed by the ASH team and then moved to another ward the following day. However this was an all male elderly ward and completely unacceptable place for a vulnerable, frightened 16 year old girl to be. Ward staff agreed and had made their views known to the bed manager but their input was disregarded. I complained and my daughter was moved to a more appropriate ward where she received excellent care in a lovely ward.

However the support following discharge from hospital has been very disappointing and some of the practice we have encountered has fallen short of acceptable. There is clearly a need for further investment in this area of healthcare as crisis management is not only a financially costly way to help people but it also doesn't provide the preventative care that avoids the crisis happening in the first place (which could be the difference between life and death). We are lucky and grateful to still have our beautiful daughter here with us but sad that we are fighting tooth and nail to get the right support in circumstances.