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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/08/suicidal-girl-faced-wrong-care-without-judges-action-says-barrister
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| Suicidal girl faced wrong care without judge's action, says barrister | Suicidal girl faced wrong care without judge's action, says barrister |
| (6 months later) | |
| Teenager would have been moved to inappropriate facility if Munby had not issued stark warning, says representative | |
| Kevin Rawlinson | |
| Tue 8 Aug 2017 09.45 BST | |
| Last modified on Wed 20 Sep 2017 19.01 BST | |
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| A suicidal teenager would not have been given adequate care if the UK’s most senior family judge had not spoken out in the starkest of terms, a barrister appointed to represent her interests has said. | A suicidal teenager would not have been given adequate care if the UK’s most senior family judge had not spoken out in the starkest of terms, a barrister appointed to represent her interests has said. |
| Simon Rowbotham, who represents the 17-year-old girl’s court-appointed legal guardian, said it was unlikely that enough would have been done to keep her safe unless public attention had been drawn to her case by Sir James Munby, the president of the family division of the high court. | Simon Rowbotham, who represents the 17-year-old girl’s court-appointed legal guardian, said it was unlikely that enough would have been done to keep her safe unless public attention had been drawn to her case by Sir James Munby, the president of the family division of the high court. |
| Munby warned that the country would have “blood on its hands” if no proper provision was made for the girl, who experts had said was determined to kill herself immediately upon her release from youth custody. | Munby warned that the country would have “blood on its hands” if no proper provision was made for the girl, who experts had said was determined to kill herself immediately upon her release from youth custody. |
| They said she needed specialist clinical care, but no hospital bed had been found for her by last Thursday as her release date neared. This was despite Munby making clear in June that one should be found. On Monday it was announced that a suitable place had become available. | They said she needed specialist clinical care, but no hospital bed had been found for her by last Thursday as her release date neared. This was despite Munby making clear in June that one should be found. On Monday it was announced that a suitable place had become available. |
| Rowbotham said: “They were stark words – ‘blood on their hands’ – that has picked up a lot of momentum, a lot of support for the case, a lot of criticism. And I think that the sad reality would appear to be that, had this case not been in front of the president and had the president not said what he said, we don’t know where we’d be on Monday, but it was looking unlikely that we would’ve got what we’ve got,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. | Rowbotham said: “They were stark words – ‘blood on their hands’ – that has picked up a lot of momentum, a lot of support for the case, a lot of criticism. And I think that the sad reality would appear to be that, had this case not been in front of the president and had the president not said what he said, we don’t know where we’d be on Monday, but it was looking unlikely that we would’ve got what we’ve got,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. |
| “The reality is it would’ve been a facility that wouldn’t have met those needs. It would’ve either been more severe and even more restrictive than she needs, or it would be where she is at the moment, which is a placement trying to do its best but having to sit on her for hours on end and the judge said: ‘It’s not really living, at the moment, it’s an existence’. And that is continuing every hour that she is not where she should be.” | “The reality is it would’ve been a facility that wouldn’t have met those needs. It would’ve either been more severe and even more restrictive than she needs, or it would be where she is at the moment, which is a placement trying to do its best but having to sit on her for hours on end and the judge said: ‘It’s not really living, at the moment, it’s an existence’. And that is continuing every hour that she is not where she should be.” |
| The girl, known only as X for legal reasons, was in need of a place in a secure facility, which officials were struggling to find. | The girl, known only as X for legal reasons, was in need of a place in a secure facility, which officials were struggling to find. |
| “Certainly, from looking at the reaction and the position from the media last Thursday, it seems as though we would not have got at least as swift a reaction as we have got had the judge not said what he said,” Rowbotham said. | “Certainly, from looking at the reaction and the position from the media last Thursday, it seems as though we would not have got at least as swift a reaction as we have got had the judge not said what he said,” Rowbotham said. |
| He agreed with Munby’s latest judgment, issued on Monday, in which the judge said that NHS England’s success in finding a bed for X was “not a matter for congratulation”. | He agreed with Munby’s latest judgment, issued on Monday, in which the judge said that NHS England’s success in finding a bed for X was “not a matter for congratulation”. |
| He added: “On the contrary, it is, of itself, yet further cause for concern. The provision of the care that someone like X needs should not be dependent upon judicial involvement, nor should someone like X be privileged just because her case comes before a very senior judge.” | He added: “On the contrary, it is, of itself, yet further cause for concern. The provision of the care that someone like X needs should not be dependent upon judicial involvement, nor should someone like X be privileged just because her case comes before a very senior judge.” |
| According to Rowbotham, the “big fear” was not knowing what was going to happen when X was released on 14 August, as well as the “frustration of knowing that, when someone has been assessed as needing a particular setting – not just out of convenience, but to save their life, to not get it is incredibly scary”. | According to Rowbotham, the “big fear” was not knowing what was going to happen when X was released on 14 August, as well as the “frustration of knowing that, when someone has been assessed as needing a particular setting – not just out of convenience, but to save their life, to not get it is incredibly scary”. |
| In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here | In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here |
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