Patient tells of ‘devastating’ refusals from mental health unit
FORMER mental health ward staffer Erin Howard said she was turned away from Hornsby Hospital’s Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre for treatment — the same place that is accused of turning away the Carlingford man charged with killing his son.
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ERIN Howard was turned away from Hornsby Hospital’s Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre during some of the darkest moments in her life.
The 34-year-old, who suffers from bipolar and complex post-traumatic stress disorder, has blasted NSW Health for the inadequate services provided at the hospital in Sydney’s northwest.
Ms Howard’s determination to shine a light on ‘ongoing issues’ within the hospital comes after it was revealed the hospital allegedly refused the voluntary admission of a Carlingford man, two days before he was charged with the stabbing death of his son.
“Unless you have a really extreme case like schizophrenia, getting help from Hornsby Hospital is a joke,” Ms Howard said.
“You are telling someone you have never met your deepest, darkest secrets, and then they tell you they don’t have the resources to care for you.”
After being refused from the hospital on several occasions, Ms Howard revealed she had cut and burnt herself, and even feared she wouldn’t make it through the night.
The Wahroonga resident said although long-serving staff in the hospital’s mental health units are passionate and caring — she had dealings with other that “couldn’t care less about your life”.
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“One of the last times I presented myself at the hospital I wasn’t admitted,” she said.
“The assessment was 15 minutes long and the nurse couldn’t understand why I was there, why I had stopped taking medication and why my private psychiatrist was so concerned.
“Mental health is not the right place for casual staff that, in some cases don't have the right skills or experience to keep patients safe.”
The former patient, who is currently admitted to the St John of God Private Hospital at Burwood, gave insight into the assessment regimen at Hornsby.
Ms Howard said patients are first assessed by a general triage nurse who “makes you explain that you are having suicidal thoughts”, before a specialist nurse and psychiatrist makes an assessment.
“I have seen the mental health units in two very different ways,” Ms Howard said.
“I have worked in the wards as a staff member and seen nurses struggling to cope, and I have also seen it through the eyes of a patient awaiting care.”
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Under care at Royal North Shore Hospital, Ms Howard said she received a case manager to support her with mental health issues, however, when she moved to Wahroonga, she claims she was told she “wasn’t sick enough” to receive support.
“When I moved to the area, I went from having adequate support from the Royal North Shore team to no support at all at Hornsby,” she said.
“This has completely changed my life, I went from being a full time worker to a disability pensioner because I haven’t received the right care and support.”
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said he has instructed NSW Health to offer assistance to the family of the Carlingford stabbing.
“I have also asked the NSW chief psychiatrist, Dr Murray Wright, to undertake a full and independent review of the medical treatment offered to the child’s father,” Mr Hazzard said.
“The preliminary advice to me from NSW Health is that the information which has been in the public arena is not wholly accurate.
“Community Mental Health Services offer medical support to people living in the community.”
A Northern Sydney Local Health District spokeswoman said Northern and Western Sydney Local Health Districts are undertaking a full investigation into the ongoing care and treatment provided to a 36-year-old Carlingford man.
“That investigation is being conducted by NSW Health chief psychiatrist Dr Murray Wright and will look at the ongoing care the man was provided, including over the last week,” the spokeswoman said.