Family ‘abandoned' by health services before depressed son took his life
Jane Macdonell felt 'gutted' when concerns raised by the family about the way Harris Macdonell was cared for when he began struggling with mental health problems, were not addressed.
She said her son was placed on an adult psychiatric ward in Melrose, known as Huntlyburn Ward, at the age of 16 and never recovered from the experience.
Sheriff Peter Paterson used his judgment after the hearing in Selkirk to highlight the shortage of hospital beds in Scotland for struggling children and teenagers such as Harris. He also said the lack of security on the adult ward from which Harris ran away 'simply defies common sense'.
However, he ruled there were no precautions that could reasonably have been taken which would have prevented Harris's death.
His mother, who was a paediatrician in the Scottish Borders when her son died, said: 'I would not, in the Borders, have had a child with leukaemia sitting on my ward for nine nights who was ill. I would not have had a sick neonate [newborn baby] sitting on my ward for nine nights who was ill. They would have found a bed somewhere. They would have gone to a specialist ward.
'Whereas for Harris it was good enough to put him in Huntlyburn. There is just this difference in the treatment of mental health patients from other medical patients.'
It was early February 2018 when Harris, a keen rugby player and musician, was admitted to Huntlyburn after a period feeling low and suicidal. On February 10 he ran out of the building, heading for the bypass towards Tweedbank. Staff collected him in the ward car but, the determination says, 'As they were driving at a speed of between 30 and 40mph, Harris jumped from the vehicle.'
His face was so badly injured he had to have plastic surgery.
Later, in a creative essay as part of his English Higher course, Harris would describe his experience in the adult mental health unit, from the gloomy entrance, and chemical smells to eating meals listening to other patients screaming.
He concluded: 'I think that no other young person should have to go through the experience I had. It was the wrong place for someone who was already mixed up, frightened and unsure of who they were.'
However, after a spell at the mental health unit for young people in Edinburgh in 2018, Harris's condition improved. He returned to school, obtaining four Highers with grades B and C despite his illness.
It was when lockdown was imposed in 2020 that the then 19-year-old's mental health began to decline.
Macdonnell says — despite her medical expertise — she did not have anywhere to turn for help, describing the family as 'abandoned'.
• David Macdonnell: Why grieving parents now beat a path to our door
'You need to have somewhere that families know they can go to,' she said. 'There was nobody who took care and interest for Harris's wellbeing.'
The fatal accident inquiry determination says his parents saw Harris in their kitchen around 9.30pm on August 18, 2020, after he had attended rugby practice. His mother realised he was missing the next morning and his body was discovered in the field opposite the family home later that day.
Sheriff Paterson highlighted the 'remarkable courage' of Jane Macdonell in giving evidence in public amid the 'unimaginable pain and suffering' of losing a child.
Macdonell said she felt she had no option but to seek the inquiry. 'I felt it was the only avenue I could go to that might result in some change to the system, that might shine a light on what's going on,' she said, adding that she was 'devastated by the limitations of the process'.
She said she has since been in touch with other families whose children, like Harris, have a diagnosis of autism with high function and have taken their own lives.
The determination said the shortage of beds for children and adolescents 'should not happen' and while the contribution it made to Harris's death was 'impossible to say' it may have affected his ability to engage with services in 2020.
It also highlighted the need for better controls on entry and exits to Huntlyburn Ward.
Dr Kevin Brown, from the young people's unit now based on the site of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, had told the inquiry: 'In the period since 2018 there has been a significant deterioration in the care and treatment of young people in the YPU.'
Brown described services as overwhelmed and said: 'The standard of care received by Harris in 2018 would be unattainable now.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Why so many young men dey struggle wit mental health, and no dey ask for help?
For recent years, di world don wake up to a growing youth mental health problem, and one group dey particularly vulnerable: boys and young men. Decades of research don establishe say men dey less likely dan women to seek support for dia mental health – 40% less likely, one 2023 US study find. But we still sabi little about how – or wen – teenage boys and young men ask for help. "Dis dey cause worry," a 2024 review for di European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry journal, "as adolescent boys and young men get high suicide rates but a low take-up of services." Wetin dey drive dis disconnect – and how schools, parents and policymakers fit step in to help? Suffer in silence Globally, one in seven adolescents between di ages of 10 and 19 experience a mental disorder, according to World Health (WHO) research last year. E find say depression, anxiety, and behavioural conditions na di most common disorders, and suicide remains di third leading cause of death among dose wey dey age 15–29. According to The Lancet Psychiatry Commission, up to 75% of all mental health conditions begin bifor di age of 25, wit di peak onset at just 15 years. While young pipo dey physically healthier dan eva, mentally dem dey struggle, and di numbers dey rise, making dis "a dangerous phase" for youth mental health. Yet despite di need, many boys and young men no dey use di mental health services available. "Ova di last 15 to 20 years, we don see an alarming rise for di prevalence of mental health conditions for both boys and girls, but help-seeking dey much less common among young men," sas Professor Patrick McGorry, psychiatrist and executive director of Orygen - Australia's National Centre of Excellence for Youth Mental Health tok Dat stronghead dey sometimes mean say young men dey only reach out wen dem dey for crisis. Social norms around emotional toughness and self-reliance dey often discourage boys to seek help, sabi pipo tell di BBC, adding dat studies consistently show say boys internalise di message wey say to dey show vulnerability na sign of weakness. Dr John Ogrodniczuk, a professor of psychiatry for di University of British Columbia in Canada and di director of HeadsUpGuys, a mental health resource for men, explain say many boys still dey equate seeking help wit failure. "If we tok about masculine socialisation, e get a lot of prescriptions about wetin men gatz do or not do: be stoic, strong, in kontrol, no show any weakness or vulnerability, figure stuff out on your own," e say. "You fit see how a lot of dis tins serve as barriers to form a connection to your own emotional life and asking for help if you need am." Dr Ogrodniczuk note say wen support dey tailored to men – for tone, language and approach – engagement dey increase. Informal approach Recent research don identify several oda themes beside di social norms and di stigma of showing weakness wey dey shape how boys view mental health support. Many boys no recognise dia symptoms or sabi how to seek help, and dem often no feel comfortable for formal clinical settings. Boys and young men dey often prefer informal help, like conversations wit friends, or anonymous, online support, and male-friendly messaging wey aligns help-seeking wit strength, responsibility and action get more impact. Dis don lead to some youth services ditching traditional clinical models. For Australia, for instance, di youth mental health organisation Orygen co-designed spaces wit young pipo wey dey offer "soft entry" – informal settings wia conversations fit happun. "Young men fit no dey as amenable to sitting in a consulting room for dia first contact. Dem fit no wan sit down for interview," Orygen executive director Patrick McGorry tok. "Maybe dem go rada get a more laid-back conversation, while dem dey do sometingelse - like going for a walk or maybe playing a game of pool or table tennis." Social media: na friend or enemy? Social media na double-edged sword: e fit connect isolated teens and provide valuable information, but also expose dem to harmful content and toxic ideals of masculinity. "Di majority of young men now dey connect wit men and masculinity influencer content," according to Dr Simon Rice, clinical psychologist and global director of di Movember Institute of Men Health. Movember research find say many young men wey dey engage wit "manosphere" content report worse mental health dan dia peers. But Rice stress say no be all content dey negative, and social media fit also be a useful tool to improve mental health. "We wan make sure say we fit harness di positive aspects of social media to bring communities togeda, to provide good health and mental health information, while minimising di possibilities for harm." Howeva, e say dat di working of social media algorithms dey present a serious challenge as dem dey designed to distribute content wey dey more likely to be viral for nature, and e dey hard for positive, health-oriented content to "win di algorithm". Professor Mina Fazel, Chair of Adolescent Psychiatry for Oxford University, agree say e dey crucial to teach teenagers and parents how social media algorithms work, pointing to soon-to-be-published research wey find say a third of young pipo don see content wey dey related to self-harm on social media for di past month. But Professor Fazel add say social media alone no dey to blame and broader changes for society fit dey considered as well. "Family and community structures dey change dramatically, and social media potentially fit play a supportive role for a lot of young pipo," she say. Loneliness factor One of di most serious challenges wey dem dey sometimes overlooked na loneliness. According to a Gallup survey wey dem publish for May, 25% of US men age 15 to 34 say dem don feel lonely for a significant potion of di previous day, higher dan di national average of 18% and di total for young women, also 18%. Dr Ogrodniczuk say dat di data for HeadsUpGuys show say loneliness and a lack of purpose na two of di most common stressors among young men. Sabi pipo underline di need to provide safe spaces wia boys fit build friendships and tok openly – no be just for designated therapy sessions, but for everyday interactions. Dat fit mean mentorship programmes, peer support groups or simply to retink how we tok about mental health for classrooms. Role of schools "E get quite a positive trend say wen young boys do seek help, dem dey usually find am helpful," Professor Mina Fazel tok. "E fit no actually matter wia dat help dey deliva: it fit be for school, e fit be for social services, e fit be for di community." E also get a growing evidence say school culture play a role for boys wellbeing. Academic pressure, particularly in contexts wia boys dey fall behind girls, fit fuel anxiety, frustration and disengagement. Professor Fazel believe schools need to dey redesigned to work better for boys. "Di majority of di world children get access to schools," she say, "so maybe dis na di place wia we really need to tink about not only di academic education of children, but a broader offer of wetin e mean to develop as adolescents - especially for boys."
BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
'I see you': The Romford campaigner getting black men talking
A campaigner has started a movement to get black men to talk openly about their experiences with trauma. Peter Reeves, 44, from Romford, began the group NINE - or "A Nod is Not Enough" - to help men move on from what he felt was a simple nod of acknowledgement in the now has about 30 members from across Essex and London, between the ages of 20 and 60, who chat on a WhatsApp group, with meetings planning in the coming Reeves said: "Black men don't talk enough but when we see each other in the street - even if we are strangers we will probably give each other a nod. When you see another black man you usually just give them a nod just to say 'I see you'." He added: "Just out of the recognition of the oppression and issues that each of us must have suffered from in our lives just by being a black man." Mr Reeves and his partner Gina lost their son Danté to stillbirth in 2022. The British-Caribbean parents organised talks and mindfulness walks since the loss of their child in order to get the community said black men "need to go a step beyond" the nod in the street and said he believed talking was "empowering"."We don't talk about our emotions and that's only holding us back," he said. He said generational trauma of slavery was often used to blame for the silence found in the community."It's not a new thing and it is not shame, it's more that we have been conditioned to be like this," he in other cultures often thrived from talking to their peers, he added, but black British men were four times more likely to be hospitalised than white men for poor mental were also less likely to seek help before reaching crisis point and were three times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act, according to the charity MIND. A spokesperson from Young Minds said black men were often told to "be a man" so were conditioned not to show any signs of weakness from a young of Cambridge has worked with The Voice, Britain's only national newspaper for black communities, to survey 10,000 black people in Britain. The study said 68% of respondents, or a family member, had suffered from mental health problems, and 87% said black families did not discuss mental health enough, including generational issues. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Why thousands of women diagnosed with ADHD could really be suffering from iron deficiency - that can easily be solved by taking this simple supplement
For as long as Josie Heath-Smith can remember, she has suffered from brain fog, fatigue and an inability to concentrate. There were also the 'debilitating' periods of hyper-fixation. Josie, 44, explains: 'I'd swing from being completely unable to focus – at work I'd drift off whenever anyone tried to explain anything – to staying up all night obsessively focused on a single task. It was always something random, like putting up a shelving unit at 4am. With two kids, the cycle left me completely burnt out.'
