Crisis line caller told to wait

An Auckland woman who called a 24/7 mental health crisis line at night was ‘‘devastated’’ to be told she would have to wait until the next day for help.

The 23-year-old North Shore woman, who did not want to be identified, said she contacted the Waitemata¯ District Health Board’s after hours north crisis team on September 4. She says she was told, unless she could get to the North Shore Hospital’s inpatient unit, help was unavailable until the morning. The woman said she was told by an operator the on-call clinician was asleep.

The woman found someone to keep her company for the night, but felt ‘‘quite devastated’’ by the hospital’s response. ‘‘I felt quite helpless. I was angry, I felt like I couldn’t personally do anything.’’

Between 11pm and 8.30am, calls were directed to an afterhours nurse via the North Shore Hospital operator, Waitemata¯ DHB communications officer Rebecca Emery said.

If a person required urgent help, they would be directed to an on-call clinician. On-call nursing staff were also available to assist on-call clinicians with overnight assessments, usually undertaken in the emergency department.

The DHB was unable to identify the woman’s call, therefore unable to comment on the case, Emery said. ‘‘Waitemata¯ DHB operates the largest mental health service by volume of serviceusers and providing the best care for every patient is our priority.’’

When a nurse was not available, calls were transferred to the adult mental heath inpatient unit, where a clinical nurse was available 24/7 all year round.

Lifeline Aotearoa clinical manager Renee Mathews said they believed anyone in distress should voice their concerns and should not be left alone. ‘‘It must be recognised that people calling helplines at crisis point are often making one last heroic effort to seek help.’’