Treatment of suicidal girl ‘shames us all’
Britain’s top family judge condemns beds shortage that has left 17-year-old with nowhere to go
‘If this is the best we can do for her and others in crisis, what right do we have to call ourselves civilised?’
BRITAIN’S most senior family judge has warned that authorities risk having “blood on our hands” over the failure to find a safe placement for a suicidal girl.
Sir James Munby, president of the family division of the High Court, condemned the “disgraceful and utterly shaming lack of proper provision” of mental health services in his judgment on the case of a 17-year-old girl who is at high risk of self-harm and suicide.
He said he felt “shame and embarrassment” at the position of the teenager, who had made multiple “determined attempts” to kill herself.
The girl, who cannot be identified and is known as X, is due to be released from a secure unit on Aug 14, following the end of a detention and training order, but due to a shortage of mental health beds has nowhere to go. In his judgment, Sir James said there was a “disgraceful and utterly shaming lack of proper provision in this country of the clinical, residential and other support services” needed by the increasing numbers of young people with similar issues. He added: “It is a disgrace to any country with pretensions to civilisation, compassion and, dare one say it, basic human decency, that a judge in 2017 should be faced with the problems thrown up by this case and should have to express himself in such terms.
“If this is the best we can do for X, and others in similar crisis, what right do we, what right do the system, our society and indeed the State itself, have to call ourselves civilised? The honest answer to this question should make us all feel ashamed.
“I feel shame and embarrassment; shame, as a human being, as a citizen and as an agent of the State, embarrassment as President of the Family Division, and, as such, Head of Family Justice, that I can do no more for X.”
Due to her high risk of self-harm, the girl lives in a room containing only a mattress. She has no personal items, carpet or mirror. She must be watched at all times, even while washing or using the lavatory, is not in education and does not socialise with other children. She has harmed herself 102 times in six months and assaulted staff 45 times.
Last night the NHS North Region identified a number of appropriate beds in response to Sir James. Dr Mike Prentice, medical director the NHS North Region, said: “The judge is quite right that the relevant agencies need to ensure a safe, new care placement for this young woman, which is suitable given the great complexities of her situation. That is what is now happening, and a number of options have now been identified.”
Figures released after a Freedom of Information request by the BBC show that almost 100 patients have waited a year to be discharged from mental health units.