GPS told teenagers their bomb trauma was ‘hormones’
CHILD victims of the Manchester Arena bombing were “fobbed off ” by GPS who claimed that teenage hormones were to blame for issues, a report has found.
Young people who were at the Ariana Grande concert in May 2017 received wildly varying care.
GPS are accused of falling short in some instances while some teachers have shown ignorance by “sweeping [problems] under the carpet”.
The Bee The Difference report has been led by Dr Cath Hill, a social worker lecturer at the University of Lancaster, who survived the attack with her then 10-year-old son, both without physical harm. She has involved in her report the university, the victims and the National Emergencies Trust, the charity.
She reveals that 93 per cent of young survivors felt they needed support in the aftermath, but one in three received no help within a year.
Some children were well-supported but many were not. A key issue identified focuses specifically on getting support post-attack where there is a huge disparity in help provided, often depending on money, location and school. One anonymous victim told the authors: “When I asked for help they brushed me off and put it down to just teenage hormones.
“[They] then just put me on antidepressants and that was only at 18 — and they didn’t even think of referring me to a therapist.” Another said they “poured their heart out” to a GP who “totally dismissed everything expressed”.
Dr Hill told The Daily Telegraph that “GPS didn’t come out very well” in the research. “There were quite a lot of young people who said they went to a GP and were fobbed off,”
Alicia Taylor, 19, was one of the victims who received no assistance. Her mother, who was in the foyer to meet Ms Taylor when the bomb exploded, was partially deafened and suffered with shell shock for several months.
Dr Hill said one key recommendation is that schools should create a special designation for pupils suffering with trauma from a major terror attack.
All staff would be briefed on the situation and the child can be removed from potentially triggering scenarios and not have to relive the events to new staff. But Dr Hill also wants to see more systemic change.“we weren’t ready as a nation for a disaster that targeted young people because already the services have been so massively reduced for adolescent mental health,” she said.
“What we found is that there weren’t enough people who were sufficiently trained in trauma with children.”
Mhairi Sharp, chief executive officer of National Emergencies Trust, said: “There has been a glaring gap in knowledge about how UK disasters affect children and young people.”