Mother’s fury as son with mental health problems is moved 270 miles away
By Western Morning News | Posted: May 26, 2015
GV of the outside of the Glenbourne unit at Derriford.
Reporter: Sam Blackledge
A furious mother has condemned mental health officials in Plymouth who moved her teenage son nearly 300 miles without telling any of his family.
She she discovered the troubled 19-year-old had been transferred when she went to visit him and discovered he wasn’t there.
The teenager had been taken from the Glenbourne unit near his family in Plymouth to The Priory Hospital, in Manchester.
Health bosses said he needed to be transferred to an intensive care unit to support his mental health needs and claimed communication with families was often difficult.
But the mother, who wants to remain anonymous, said their handling of the case was “diabolical”.
She said: “The first I knew of it was when I went to see him in Glenbourne and he wasn’t there.
“He got sent to Manchester because there are no beds near Plymouth, but I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t asked.
“He has been there for three weeks and didn’t take extra clothes or anything because he thought he was just going in for an assessment.”
Just weeks before being transferred the teenager had been discharged from Glenbourne to a local B&B before being taken in by a friend’s mother.
His mum says she knew nothing of that – and claims none of it would have happened if he had been cared for properly from the start.
She said: “When he was discharged he was left as a vulnerable teenager out in the community.
“He’s not allowed to live with me because of the level of violence he had towards me – he could have killed someone but there was no-one there to look out for him.
“The whole package of care has been diabolical – he was previously discharged into a B&B when he should have been in supported living.
“He’s all alone up there and is really scared. The aftercare for teenagers is diabolical.”
Plymouth Community Healthcare said: “He was transferred to an intensive care unit to enable us to fully support his mental health needs.
“Communication with families can be difficult at times like this and his mother was made aware as soon as possible.”
Credit: Western Morning News
Mother’s fury as son with mental health problems is moved 270 miles away added by manchesterusersnetwork on
View all posts by manchesterusersnetwork →
