The loss of mental health beds has gone dangerously too far | Letter

Reports on the terrible events in the East Midlands last June (Nottingham killer went to MI5 headquarters and begged to be arrested, court told, January 24) prompted me to write about a time when my son developed very violent psychotic behavior. We called our GP at 9am and he agreed something needed to be done. Three hours later he arrived with a psychiatrist, and my son was sectioned, a bed booked, an ambulance called and five hours after our first call he was in hospital. But that was in 1987.

In November 2023, my son had a similar attack. A phone call arranged a visit from a psychiatrist later that day, who agreed he needed treatment. By 5:30 PM on the second day, a team had been assembled and a “Section 2” was issued.

Phone calls revealed there were no NHS or private beds on site; nor within the province; nor in neighboring provinces. I was asked if I could please keep him in my house overnight. He was frightening, ranting, screaming, delusional, barely slept, incontinent due to bedsores and had not eaten in days. I had to say yes.

No news came until 8 p.m. on the ninth day, when he was finally taken to hospital. Thus ended the most terrifying experience of my 88-year life.

There are ongoing reports of people with serious mental illness, known to local mental health teams, running amok and causing tragedies, the latest being in Nottingham. But what can mental health teams do in the absence of secure facilities? The drastic reduction in the number of beds has gone dangerously too far.
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