Wrong place

An accident and emergency department is not the place for someone who needs a quiet, nurturing environment as soon as possible.

As a recent Ministry of Health briefing to the Prime Minister said, police and emergency hospital staff are not ideal first responders.

As Dr Kate Allan of the Australian College for Emergency Medicine said, the emergency department isn’t the right environment for somebody who is in acute mental stress.

In another world, at another time, the wise, calm, non-partisan members of the family, would be discreetly called. Sane and respectful discussion would take place. Maybe the teen would go and stay with an elderly family group. Spend time in a peaceful, spacious environment among people who can listen.

These alarming statistics are not the government’s responsibility. These are society’s and families’ responsibilities.

It’s time we turned our attention away from kicking the “broken” health system and focus inwards, to ourselves.

The mayhem associated with emergency health services cannot provide what distressed, confused teens need, and that is to give them a good reason to want to live.

Only family can provide the level of support required to enter into the fragile mental realm of one of your own.

Jeanette O’Shea, Orewa. ¯