A mother said she is “terrified” for her teenage daughter’s safety after being told she was “not allowed” to accompany her on the ship to England for mental health treatment.
The teenager will leave on the boat for Liverpool on Tuesday along with health workers as she will be admitted to a mental health center in Manchester after being told her needs are too complex for treatment in Northern Ireland.
However, her mother says she has been told that she cannot accompany her daughter on the trip to provide comfort and support and that she must travel separately on a plane the next day.
The mother’s biggest concern is that her daughter could get hurt during the trip.
She said: “Traveling to England will be a very scary and traumatic ordeal for my daughter and all I have asked is to be with her on the journey. I cannot understand why I would not be allowed to travel with her so that I can provide comfort and support.”
The teenager has suffered a series of mental health problems and trauma in recent years following a sexual assault before her teens.
In the years since she was admitted to the mental health units in Northern Ireland. Her mother says that during her time at the facility, her daughter managed to seriously injure herself to the point where she required surgery numerous times and fled the Royal Victoria Hospital after her staff took her there. .
Her mother claims that on several occasions she injured herself when “she was supposed to be under the surveillance of the staff”.
While in a mental health unit, she was taken to A&E more than 58 times in the space of a year, with the most recent injury, a couple of weeks ago, requiring surgery.
Her mother said: “Being sent to England for treatment has already caused my daughter and our family a lot of worry. It’s a big move and her being alone without her caregivers terrifies us.”
“I asked to be allowed to join her on the boat on Tuesday but was denied and told that it is not Trust policy that a parent can join during these transfers.
“I am one of the only people who can keep my daughter calm at times… I am terrified for her safety on this trip.
“Trust has failed to protect her in the past, so why should she trust that they will be able to now?
“I had to organize a flight the next day because they told me that I can’t get on the ship with her and I don’t understand how this is allowed.
“She shouldn’t be making this trip in the first place and it’s a shame we don’t have the facilities here in Northern Ireland to care for our children with complex mental health needs.”
It is understood that the adolescent will travel with a group of health workers in a safe transport.
A Belfast Health and Social Care Trust spokesman said: “Patients traveling by secure transport to a secure unit for treatment will be accompanied by a number of healthcare professionals in a closed vehicle. The group will then use a secure cabin on board the ferry”.
“The well-being of patients is of the utmost importance and the number of staff traveling is risk assessed to ensure everyone’s safety. They are required to follow COVID safety protocols, which limits the number of people who can travel in the group.
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