Matt Hancock, you need to hear what happened to my daughter during a mental health crisis

Dear Matt Hancock,

When the news of your appointment appeared on my Twitter feed last week I initially felt a glimmer of hope. Many of us, including myself, a carer representative for the Royal College of Psychiatrists, have been calling for and indeed campaigning desperately for a serious commitment to our NHS, not least in mental health services. So, surely, as our new health and social secretary you would be certain to prioritise the urgent need for parity of esteem i.e. valuing mental health equally to physical health. Surely the need to end the “burning injustices”, as our prime minister is so fond of saying, would be the top of your to do list.

And then a news story broke showing the number of mental health beds has fallen by 30 per cent, meaning those desperately in need of one in an acute mental health ward would face longer waiting times – and an increase in the use of out of area admissions would be a certainty. In addition, the number of mental health nurses has fallen significantly, as has the number of doctors specialising in psychiatry.

To then discover that you had failed to recognise this crisis and treat the lack of parity with seeming indifference has not only filled me with utter hopelessness but also with anger.

You see, my daughter has endured the most devastating lack of continuity of care during the past six years under a depleted mental health service which, under your predecessor’s watch, had deteriorated. She has been sent “out of area” three times (latterly over 300 miles away to Scotland) and each time to a different hospital without even the most basic consistency of treatment. I wish I could say that her case is an isolated one but sadly I’ve met so many who have endured similar chaotic and damaging treatments. In fact, many of them have not been fortunate enough even to return home from these placements because they are so far from home.

I do hope, Mr Hancock, that you will feel as outraged as I do and are prepared to channel this into action that is very much overdue. I hope you are as tired as so many of us ordinary people are of hearing empty rhetoric and unfulfilled promises.

When we send people away from home, especially young children and teenagers, we deny them the love and support they need at a time of great vulnerability. Research clearly shows that in doing this we also prolong recovery and often worsen the prognosis. One hospital admission is likely to be the first of many admissions. Up and down the country, I’ve met many young people trapped in the endless cycle of admission, relapse and discharge.

Young people like “Katy” and “Lily”. They were two of the 15 young people admitted to the Scottish hospital where my daughter spent six months last year. Katy was only 11 years old and like every single patient there, she had been sent across the border from England. Far away from their family, friends and outpatient teams. Denied the continuity of care that is so necessary for recovery.

All the patients were desperately ill, and all were unable to be treated in the community due to the lack of intensive outpatient resources. So, like my daughter, each time their mental health deteriorated there were no options available, no step-up service to ensure they could remain at home.

Taking young people away from “adolescent life” and into “anorexic world” (as lead consultant Dr Mark Berelowitz at the Royal Free describes it) may seem like the only option, but not only does it create more problems, it also increases the likelihood of institutionalisation.

On one visit to see my daughter many of the patients were gathered in the hallway. I was alarmed to observe that each and every patient had identical head injuries as a result of self-harm. In addition, all patients had a nasal gastric tube fitted, demonstrating that their eating disorder was still very much in control. Most of these young people were not new admissions but patients who quite simply had been in hospital far too long. Yet most could not return home as the outpatient services were ill equipped to support them.

For at least two of these patients, their battle to return home is sadly ongoing. The mother of one young lady, who although managed to have her moved to a hospital nearer home, fears her daughter is now so damaged by the effects of institutionalisation and living for far too long in “anorexic world” that her daughter has no future. Parents and even clinicians losing hope and fearing the worst possible outcome is surely the most damning indictment of our mental health services.

In spite of my experience and that which others have shared with me, I cannot give up hope. Our family has so far survived our ordeal and in speaking out and speaking truth to those in power my daughter has at least been spared further admissions. She now has some continuity of care and access to a therapy that is addressing the trauma caused by so much inadequate and frankly dangerous “care”. My fight continues for those unable to speak up. For the people and their families like Lily’s mum, who are worn down and almost destroyed by the lack of parity of esteem in our mental health services. For the youngest patients like Katy now on her third hospital admission and further than ever from any chance of recovery.

I ask you, Mr Hancock, to join me in this fight. Firstly, by organising an opportunity for myself to speak in parliament to share my experiences and insight from my direct and lived experience. We can and must do much better, particularly for our young people, and I’d like to share with you the examples of excellent practice that I’ve discovered. The child and adolescent mental health service at The Royal Free London is an excellent example of a compassionate and cost-effective service that treats the majority of patients at home, in the community. Dr Mark Berelowitz has agreed to speak alongside me in parliament and share this model of treatment that has been in place for the past five years.

Secondly, I ask you to read and respond to our campaign petition. This was delivered to Downing Street on 30 June but is ongoing. The demands include the all-important continuity of care, as well as access to therapies that will address trauma, such as that which may have resulted from adverse childhood experiences. If we can successfully implement an early intervention strategy, we can surely prevent mental ill health in our young people becoming entrenched and continuing into adulthood. We have many high-profile supporters, including MPs Clive Lewis, Jon Ashworth, mental health campaigner Jonny Benjamin MBE and author Joanna Cannon.

As president of the American Psychiatric Society, Dr Altha J Stewart said at the recent Royal College of Psychiatrists International Congress, “It is far easier to build a strong child than repair a broken man.”

I very much look forward to hearing from you and hope you will be able to demonstrate your commitment and determination to ending this crisis in our mental health system and achieving real parity of esteem.

Rachel Bannister is a carer representative for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and is an ambassador for Beat, the UK eating disorder charity