A woman has told how she allegedly turned up to a hospital in north Wales saying she wanted to kill herself only to be told the mental health team had clocked off.
Rhian Mai Williams, who has a history of mental health problems, claims she went to Ysbyty Alltwen in Tremadog after feeling she was losing control.
But when the 25-year-old arrived at the minor injuries unit at 5.10pm she was allegedly spoken to by a female member of staff through a speaker in the wall and was told that nothing could be done to help her because the mental health team had clocked off at 5pm.
Ms Williams, who was diagnosed with depression at 16, anxiety and panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD), said: I couldnt believe how she was speaking to me. I had been struggling all day to keep control of myself.
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I was so upset and I explained to her that I wanted to kill myself but she just kept saying there was nothing she could do.
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I just find it disgusting that she didnt even come out to talk to me, she just kept speaking to me through the speaker.
I understand she wasnt from the mental health team but surely she should have some sort of basic training?
If Id have seriously injured myself it would have been different but I feel like when it comes to mental health no one cares or understands.
Miss Williams says she called the hospital after the incident, in early August, and explained her state of mind but she was told it was going to take a minimum of four weeks just for her to be assessed.
A supervisor for the cleaning team at Nant Gwrtheyrn, she began self-harming at the age of 12 due during a troubled childhood.
She has tried to kill herself five times – four times overdosing on various tablets and one time even trying to hang herself.
After her third overdose she admitted herself to the Hergest mental health unit in Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor in July last year, but she was discharged after just one month.
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Just two months after being discharged she took another overdose.
I want to get better, she said, but I dont know how. Ive had counselling but, as brilliant as they were, it didnt really work for me.
I had been seeing a psychologist but I missed one appointment because I was having a bad day with my depression and they took me off the list.
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Im also on anti-depressants and anti-psychotics. I just want it to stop – its never ending and Im just exhausted from feeling like this every day.
Even on good days I know it can flip so easily and on my bad days I cant even get out of bed.
I still wish it had worked the first time I tried to kill myself. I cant ever say that I wont try again because my BPD makes me so impulsive.
I just want someone to be able to take my pain away – I want to be able to take something to stop my thoughts in the same way as taking a paracetamol stops a headache.
I just need someone to try to help me but I constantly feel like Im being dismissed.
Mental illness isnt taken as seriously as physical illness and it needs to change.
Samantha Watson, BCUHBs Head of Operations and Service Delivery for Mental Health Services in North West Wales, said: While we cannot discuss individual patient cases in any detail, we would like to apologise to Ms
Williams for the difficulties she has experienced in accessing support.
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We encourage Ms Williams and anyone else who is unhappy about the care theyve received to please contact us directly, so we can thoroughly investigate and act upon their concerns.
We have made improving the support available to people in an acute mental health crisis our number one priority as we begin implementing our mental health strategy, Together for Mental Health in North Wales.
To support this we are working with our partner organisations to develop community resources such as crisis cafes, sanctuaries, and step down services to assist people at times of acute need.
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