NHS trust accused of 'abandoning' Gateshead teenager who had to wait two years for mental health care

A teenager who was suffering meltdowns and self-harming waited more than two years for mental health care.

A Gateshead teenager was just 14 when - experiencing "intense emotional meltdowns" - she was referred to specialist mental health services in December 2020.

There was then a two-year-wait before she was seen by Children and Young People's Services at the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust. Though she was diagnosed with autism 13 months afterwards, she had to wait until two years had passed before she was prescribed medication for her sleep and anxiety problems - and it was 27 months before she was allocated a care co-ordinator.

The girl's mum complained to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman about the case, saying how her daughter had been "abandoned" and "lost in the system". The mother herself said she had suffered panic attacks and been prescribed anti-depressants as a result of her ordeal.

The ombudsman found the trust had "failed to provide suitable care in an adequate timeframe" and recommended that the Trust both apologise to the family and create an action plan to improve services. The Trust has done so - and said it was now doing "everything it can" to support families while a "redesign" of the neurodiversity mental health referral route is carried out.

The trust's chief operating officer Ramona Duguid explained it was also now working to ensure that every child or young person referred received support and advice within four weeks.

The girl - who has not been named by the ombudsman - was experiencing "meltdowns" which involved self-harm, crying, being often unhappy and struggling to concentrate at school to such a degree that she stopped going. The two years she waited after being referred for mental health care should be set against the national target - which is that she should have been seen within 18 weeks.

The ombudsman Rebecca Hilsenrath also highlighted the lack of care the girl received while on the waiting list.

The mother, 53, said: "I can’t put into words how devastating the impact of the delay was on our family. At a crucial time in her life, my daughter was abandoned by the professionals who are supposed to care for her. She couldn’t do all the normal things that teenagers do, she became increasingly isolated and withdrawn, and her intense emotional meltdowns could last for hours.

“It was incredibly stressful for us as parents to see her going through this and feel like no one was helping us. I was ringing the crisis team every week, sometimes more than that. No one would tell us where she was on the waiting list or how long it could take to get the help she so badly needed. We just went round in circles. The stress led to me having panic attacks and being prescribed anti-depressants."

Despite this, the woman added she had been inspired by her daughter - she added: "I am in awe of what my daughter has been able to achieve despite what she has been through. But it is heart-breaking because she has such potential – she is highly intelligent, articulate, warm, funny – and so much of that has been wasted because she got lost in the system."

The Ombudsman has urged NHS leaders and the Government to work closely on improving the timeliness of care for those experiencing poor mental health. The issue is a longstanding national one - NHS bosses in the North East and North Cumbria have identified children's mental health as a key priority area. As of June 2024, there were more than 10,000 children across the region waiting in excess of a year for their second contact with CYP mental health services.

Ms Hilsenrath said: "Timely treatment is critical for the safety and wellbeing of people experiencing mental illness. The overwhelming majority of professionals in mental health services demonstrate their hard work, commitment and care daily, but they are also working under immense pressure.

“Delays in diagnosis and treatment can have a significant impact on patients, as this story shows. In this case, the girl had to wait far too long to be treated and this deeply affected her health, her life, and her family."

She pointed to two reports - published this year and in 2018 which highlighted issues causing "poor treatment" in mental health services but added: "We are still waiting for change. It is clear from our evidence that there are still problems that must be addressed if patients are to receive the care they deserve and need. Urgent action is needed to make sure that mental health professionals can deliver the right care at the right time."

The ombudsman said it was time the Government "looked afresh" at the issue in order to improve mental health services. In the Gateshead case, she found earlier intervention could have meant the teenager could have stayed in school and felt less abandoned.

There also findings of failure in the way the family's complaint was handled.

Louise Ansari, chief executive at watchdog Healthwatch England said the case "makes for difficult reading and is unfortunately reflective of experiences we’ve heard from autistic people across England". Ms Ansari added: "With waiting lists for autism assessments growing, and almost 9 in 10 people waiting over the recommended 13 weeks, we’re incredibly concerned that more people will be feeling the devastating impact of long waits."

Ramona Duguid, chief operating officer at CNTW said: “We are sorry for the delays people are experiencing in accessing the care, support, and treatment they need. We fully recognise the significant distress this causes people and their families who are waiting long periods of time to get the help they need.

"“We take all complaints seriously, and always look at how we can learn from them to improve people’s experience of our services. It is important to acknowledge the learning we have also taken from this specific complaint, how this was dealt with and the added distress this caused to the family, again which we are very sorry for."

Ms Duguid added that the CYP service provided two "pathways" of support: for mental health and for neurodiversity. She continued: "We are implementing new ways of working on the mental health pathway and are working towards ensuring that every young person and their family referred receives help and advice within four weeks.

“However, we recognise the significant challenges in demand for the neurodiverse needs pathway in our region as well as nationally. Referrals for assessments have increased significantly over the last few years.

"Our teams are working hard to do everything they can to support people who are waiting, whilst we work with our partners on a fundamental redesign of this pathway. This includes having the right professionals at the right time to support people sooner, which is essential in ensuring we build the right capacity to meet the significant demand increases we continue to experience.”

In September, former surgeon and health minister Lord Darzi produced a report - commissioned by the new Government - which found the NHS was in a "critical state" and that when it came to mental health, waiting lists for had “surged”. Charity Mind said the review is a “dark day for mental health” and must act as a “turning point”.

In response, the new Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the report would inform a 10-year plan to "radically reform the NHS and get patients treated on time again", and added; “The damage done to the NHS has been more than a decade in the making. We clearly have a long road ahead. But while the NHS is broken, it’s not beaten. We will turn the NHS around so it is there for you when you need it, once again."

Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community

Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community for all the latest news direct to your phone.

To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.

If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN