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'I would only get out of bed to see a dealer before going home to sniff'

'I would only get out of bed to see a dealer before going home to sniff'

A woman has bravely opened up about her battle with ketamine addiction, which had gripped her life to the extent that she only left her bed to purchase drugs. Emily Trueman started using ketamine at 16 after falling in with a new crowd.
By 19, Emily, from Hoylake, was snorting up to 14 grams of ketamine daily, spending roughly £60 to feed her habit, leading her to abandon her education. Now five months sober, she's sharing her story to highlight the drug's prevalence among the youth, describing its use as "the norm".
Speaking to the ECHO, Emily recounted: "I went to school and got my 10 GCSEs. When I left, I became friends with a new group, and that's just what they were into.
"It got to a point where I was taking it every day. I've got ADHD and I was undiagnosed at the time. My mind runs so quickly. When I took ket everything slowed down.
"I felt like a failure with every step I went through in life. I was clever in school, but I could never sustain it when I got to exams. I couldn't keep up with education, I couldn't keep up with work, and I was having run-ins with the police. I was so depressed, I honestly thought I'd never escape it and I'd never be happy without it.
"The last few months before rehab were getting out of bed to see a dealer and then coming back home and sniffing in my room. That was it."
In April 2024, Emily dropped out of sixth form so ketamine could become "more accessible". She said: "Drugs weren't really a thing in sixth form. I ended up going to a [different college] with a friend who also used.
"I dropped out a few months in because I couldn't afford to feed my addiction. I started working full-time, swapping jobs, and then I went on sick leave for a couple of months.
"Eventually I went back to work because sick pay wasn't cutting it and I couldn't afford my drugs anymore."
Despite suffering from an array of health issues, including a shrunken bladder, limited liver functioning, and even being told she was at risk of kidney failure, Emily continued to use, sniffing a daily dose of up to half an ounce of ketamine.
However, the teenager never thought she had a problem. She said: "I thought it's what everyone does. When you're an addict, your brain does anything to tell you you're not an addict.
"If you're sitting in a room full of people who are also addicts, and you keep behaving like you don't have a problem by using together, you'll never realise that you actually do have a problem. And people also don't realise they have a problem because literally everyone does it. It's normal.
"I only started realising I had a problem the last time I went on sick pay, a month before I went to rehab. I realised I wasn't able to maintain any kind of normal life while being addicted to ket.
"Nothing was conducive to a normal lifestyle. I didn't sleep in the night; I slept in the day. I was living in my bed; I wouldn't shower, wouldn't get dressed. I wouldn't want to speak to anyone unless they were other users.
"My life was just a big mess. I just knew I couldn't live like that anymore. But it was difficult because I couldn't go to one of my friends and tell them I had a problem. They were all addicts too."
Emily said the streets of Liverpool are heavily infiltrated with ketamine. "It definitely is a crisis," she said. "The price has gone so much cheaper; you don't know what it's being bashed with.
"It's everywhere. If I walked into Liverpool, I'd be able to spot numerous people who are on ket or people I used to use with. That's just the way it is right now."
In February this year, Emily began a rehabilitation program at Birchwood Rehab in Heswall, which she says has been "amazing". Now five months clean, Emily wants to help other young people who are in the grip of an addiction.
When asked what advice she would give to other young addicts, Emily said: "I think it's important for people to understand that when you're an addict, you can't just put down a drug and stay clean; it doesn't work like that.
"You have to change every aspect of your life. It's about looking at your spirituality and learning to do these small things, which will boost your mood. That's what helps you stay in recovery. I'd really recommend fellowship groups and engagement services.
"Try to distance yourself from people who use. I've cut contact with people I know who used. There is some kind of hope out there. I'm sitting here, and I'm nearly five months clean. I never thought I would see that day. I thought I'd be using it until I die, or until I end my life. That's where I was at; I was just miserable. It sucked all the life out of me."
In Liverpool, councillors have said the region is in the grip of a 'ketamine crisis'. According to the Office for National Statistics, 2.9% of 16 to 24-year-olds reported using ketamine between April 2023 and March 2024. This was down slightly from the previous year, when usage levels hit a record 3.8% for the age group.
In January, the Home Office said it would seek expert advice on reclassifying the drug from its current controlled Class B status to the more serious Class A. Currently, the maximum penalty for supplying and producing ketamine is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.
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Mum treated like 'rabid dog' before choking to death on paper
Mum treated like 'rabid dog' before choking to death on paper

Daily Record

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  • Daily Record

Mum treated like 'rabid dog' before choking to death on paper

Margaret Mary Picton, known as Rita, died of aspiration pneumonia. A woman said her vulnerable mum was 'left like a dog' and mocked by staff in a mental health facility. An inquest found that neglect she suffered contributed to Margaret Mary Picton's painful and traumatic death. ‌ She died of aspiration pneumonia after choking on paper in September 2022. While Margaret, known as Rita, from St Helens, died nearly three years ago, her devastated family had to wait until earlier this year for an inquest that would shed light on the shocking neglect she suffered on the Fern Ward at Leigh Moss Hospital in Liverpool, which is operated by the region's Mersey Care mental health trust and specifically cares for patients with dementia. ‌ Rita was 76 when she died but her health had been declining for some years after she began suffering from vascular dementia, reports the ECHO. ‌ "Mum was a very straightforward person, she would always tell it like it is," explained Rita's daughter, Rachel Burkey, 51. "She was very good natured and would always give her kids whatever we needed. She was a really good mum. "But a few years ago I noticed changes in her behaviour and her mood. Then my sister called to say she was confused and had come at her with a knife. It was horrendous." Having been in a care home in St Helens for some time, Rita's unpredictable and at times aggressive behaviour led to her being sectioned sectioned under the Mental Health Act and taken to Leigh Moss on September 10 at 3am. ‌ "We got the call to say they wanted to section her," explained Rachel. "Obviously her needs would go ahead whatever we wanted and we said if this is what mum needed in order to get help then we weren't against it." On admission to the ward, it was decided that Rita should be observed by staff at least every 15 minutes because of her changing mood and previous incidents of self harming. The inquest at Liverpool Coroner's Court in January heard that staff on the ward missed opportunities to respond to Rita's erratic and dangerous behaviour, including stabbing herself with a pen. Staff did not escalate the incidents and observations were not correctly carried out. ‌ One particular staff member, who was responsible for engaging with Rita on the wards, did not make any "meaningful attempts to engage positively" with her, the inquest concluded. Worse than that, he was described as "unprofessional and disrespectful" when making gestures towards her. Rachel elaborated on the behaviour of this staff member having seen CCTV images during the inquest. She added: "On the CCTV I have seen, she is in the corner, she looks like she has been there for hours. To me, she looked like she had been left like a dog with rabies. ‌ "He (the staff member) was pretending to shoot a bow and arrow at her and pretending to shoot himself in the head. He even mimicked her when she was eating paper." The coroner Helen Rimmer concluded that Rita's observations were "limited and of poor quality", meaning further opportunities were missed to identify a deterioration in her behaviour and to escalate concerns. For one hour there were no observations of her at all due to a "communication breakdown" between staff. The coroner stated: "This was fundamental basic care and supervision, which more likely than not would have led to an escalation and review of Rita's behaviour and presentation at that time had the requisite observations been undertaken." ‌ The inquest was told that CCTV footage then showed at least five, possibly six occasions where Rita could be seen placing paper in her mouth, with staff present on all occasions. While they did intervene and remove some paper from her, they again did not escalate concerns. In the evening of September 10, one member of staff saw Rita eating paper and did not remove it from her, instead miming an action of eating paper to someone else and sat with his back to Rita, failing to properly supervise or monitor her. In her record of inquest, the coroner states: "Staff were aware of the choking risk of paper eating but failed to escalate matters, intervene, and appropriately monitor Rita. ‌ She added: "It is more likely than not that had staff been appropriately observing and supporting Rita, they would have removed all paper from her or in the alternative escalated concerns about Rita eating paper earlier with the nurse in charge who would then have removed any paper from Rita, identified any continuing concerns and reviewed risks, which would have included consideration of the level of Rita's supportive observations. This would have more likely than not prevented Rita from eating paper and subsequently choking." Rita collapsed shortly afterwards and shockingly the staff who had seen her eating paper did not tell those performing CPR on her about this, so choking prevention measures were not considered. Paramedics were called but were delayed by being locked out of the hospital building. When they did arrive, CPR had been ongoing for 25 minutes and Rita had gone into cardiac arrest twice before the paramedics were told that Rita had been eating paper prior to her collapsing. This delayed the paramedics from removing the paper, which was causing a blockage in Rita's airway. ‌ The coroner stated: "This was basic care and treatment that should have been undertaken and raised sooner. Not to have provided this basic care and information to professionals treating Rita was a gross failure which more likely than not hastened Rita's death." Rachel described these failures as "sickening", adding: "I can't believe they didn't even tell the paramedics that she had chewed paper until the very end. She had two cardiac arrests before they said anything. It is hard to think of that being her end." Rita was taken to the Royal Liverpool Hospital where she went onto develop aspiration pneumonia and died on September 26 2022. ‌ The coroner stated: "The aspiration pneumonia was more likely than not caused by Rita eating the paper, the resuscitation efforts that followed Rita eating the paper and collapsing or a combination of both. The failure to immediately notify staff and paramedics that Rita had ingested paper prior to her collapse represented a failure to render care that would more likely than not have prolonged her life. Ms Rimmer added: "Having identified a specific gross failure which clearly amounts to neglect, it is also found that the accumulation of the catalogue of missed opportunities throughout the care of Rita by those involved in her care at Leigh Moss Hospital, namely the acts and omissions mentioned above, have as a whole also amounted to neglect." Knowing that there had been failures in her mum's care, Rachel and her sister Jak fought for justice but had to wait years for the inquest to take place because of various delays. They instructed a barrister for the hearing to ensure they got the right result for their mum. ‌ "I thought, I am going to get my mum justice," added Rachel. "I am going to make them tell me what they did. This was about accountability. "We came out of that inquest and we said 'we've done you proud mum', she was neglected and people will know that. I feel like we got justice and by sharing it with the ECHO everyone will know what happened." Rachel added: "Mum was a fighter, even on that day on the CCTV she was still giving as good as she got. We will remember her fight and her spirit, she went through a lot and that's the sad thing. She shouldn't have been left like a dog in the corner, with no one doing anything except teasing her and basically watching her die. ‌ But I think mum would be looking down now and saying 'good on you girls' for us fighting like this. I can see her saying that, she was really feisty. She was a lovely mum and a strong woman who wouldn't back down from what she thought was right." In a statement, A Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said, 'We'd like to again offer our sincere condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Margaret Mary Picton. While we are unable to comment on individual patient care because of rules governing patient confidentiality, we can confirm that we fully co-operated with the Coroner's investigation. We also accept the findings of the Assistant Coroner, Helen Rimmer and would like to sincerely apologise for the shortcomings in care. "A patient safety learning review was undertaken following the tragic circumstances which led to Mrs Picton's death. This is in line with the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) which is the NHS approach for responding to patient safety incidents, focussing on learning and making immediate changes to ensure patient safety, through a compassionate, system based and proportionate approach.

Is the huge rise in autism diagnoses really good news? We're not so sure
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The Guardian

time2 days ago

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Is the huge rise in autism diagnoses really good news? We're not so sure

Prof Gina Rippon dismisses too easily the genuine concerns about overdiagnosis of conditions such as autism and the medicalisation of normal behaviour (Why the antagonism over the rise in autism diagnoses? It's actually good news, 21 July). She correctly observes that there has been an astonishingly large increase in diagnosis rates since 1998. She also notes correctly that, before the 1980s, autism was diagnosed infrequently because of its 'overly narrow' definition. However, in arguing that many children consequently missed out on the help they needed, she draws the wrong conclusion. She fails to mention that other diagnoses were available for such children, including social anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disability, among others. Children needing help were frequently diagnosed with one of these, and with sufficient reliability to enable help to be offered within available resources. Moreover, it is well known that the diagnosis of autism by itself does not indicate any specific kind of intervention. Rippon also welcomes the soaring rates of diagnosis, assuming it somehow explains the behaviour of those given it. However, autism is just a descriptive diagnosis. The diagnostic criteria comprise a large cluster of behaviours, such that two people with the diagnosis may display no behaviours in common. The common underlying psychological or neurological abnormality, if one exists at all, is simply not known. I recall during my clinical career in child and adolescent mental health services (Camhs) being asked by parents of a boy with an autism diagnosis: 'We know he has autism, but why does he behave the way he does?' The only available explanation would be an individual assessment of the child concerned and the settings that trigger any behavioural difficulties. Rippon ends by claiming the high rates of autism diagnoses are simply a reflection of human diversity. However, in doing so, she inadvertently reflects what those concerned about overdiagnosis are actually saying. It's precisely because we welcome human diversity that we wonder why such high levels of diagnosis are necessary to understand Richard HassallKnaresborough, North Yorkshire As there are so many references to a 'bad old past' in Gina Rippon's article, I thought it might be helpful if I commented on some of the misapprehensions she expresses. I worked as an academic child psychiatrist from the 1960s to the 1990s, including as a psychiatrist to a school for autistic children. First, the rise in diagnoses has been even greater than Rippon suggests. In the first edition of my textbook, published in 1986, I give the prevalence as three to four per 10,000 children. It is now at least 100, a 30-fold rise. Second, the rise is either entirely or almost entirely due to a redefinition of the condition. So-called Asperger syndrome has been abolished as a diagnosis and merged into 'autistic spectrum disorder'. Third, I do not recognise the supposed difficulty in diagnosing girls with this condition. Certainly, I had no hesitation in doing so when it was indicated. Whether the redefinition of autism is good news or bad news, I, like many others, would find it difficult to say. Alongside the change in definition has come a welcome reduction in stigmatisation and greater willingness to attend relevant services. On the other hand, child mental health services are overwhelmed and many parents are frustrated by their incapacity to obtain what they, quite unrealistically, see as life-changing help. Rather than seeking a definitive diagnosis, many would be better served by encouragement to see their problematic children as 'different' and needing an upbringing tailored to their particular strengths and GrahamEmeritus professor of child psychiatry, University College London Gina Rippon presents the astonishing rise in autism diagnoses as evidence that more members of marginalised groups are benefiting from being diagnosed. It is true that growing numbers of people are suffering mental distress, and the evidence links this with increased poverty and inequality. It is also true that access to services and welfare typically still requires a psychiatric diagnosis. But it is entirely unjustified to describe autism as an incurable, neurodevelopmental brain disorder, except in the case of a small number of individuals who will require lifelong support and may never live independently. The extension of autism diagnoses to potentially include billionaires like Elon Musk, along with celebrities and others with successful careers, is unsupported by evidence. In fact, despite Rippon's claim of 'stunning advances', no neural or genetic factor robust enough to aid diagnosis or predict treatment response has ever been found. Additionally, there are significant disadvantages to framing diagnostic labels as identities to be celebrated. The experiences described by many people now claiming to be autistic are better explained as consequences of the rootlessness and individualism that characterise everyday life today, the effects of what sociologists call 'victimhood cultures', the invidious influence of social media, and the contribution of abuse and other adverse experiences to distress of all forms. We do not need yet another way to individualise and commodify the grossly uneven impacts of these social pressures. Instead, we need to fundamentally transform our profoundly unequal society, dismantling the myths that make inequality appear John CrombyHonorary professor of mental health and psychology, University of Nottingham Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.

The diet traps and 6 other common ‘triggers' that make my ADHD worse – plus the expert tips that help me cope
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