Mental health services 'need revamp'

Rock fan Sarah had suffered from manic depression since she was 12

A man is awaiting sentencing after admitting helping his mentally ill daughter to commit suicide.

The family of James and Sarah Lawson said he was forced into such desperate measures because the NHS failed him.

His wife Karen is now calling for better care for the mentally ill to avoid another tragedy.

BBC News Online looks at the gaps in the current mental health provisions.

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Mental health charities have expressed their shock at the way the NHS handled the Sarah Lawson case.

They say the 22-year-old was released from hospital too early and that neither she nor her family got the help and support they needed.

"To just turn her away and put her back in with her family so that they become so desperate that there is no other way out, is unforgivable

Marjorie Wallace, of Sane

Sarah, from Hove, East Sussex, had suffered from manic depression since the age of 12 and had made numerous suicide attempts.

She would often cut her arms so deeply that she needed cosmetic surgery.

But despite the seriousness of her case her parents claim they were unable to get the relevant support and help she desperately needed.

Death sentence

Her mother said that the final hospital discharge from the mental health unit at Worthing Hospital was Sarah's "death sentence."

But the Mental Health Foundation said Sarah's case was not unique and that young people are being constantly let down by the NHS, which needs to make urgent changes.

Ruth Lesirge the chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said mental health services were suffering from chronic underfunding.

She said this was leading to poor services.

"Mental health services have been chronically underfunded for many years.

"What this means for individuals is that they are frequently unable to get access to support when they first need it, and have to wait until they reach crisis point before anyone responds."

Earlier this year the Foundation called for a radical overhaul of young people's mental health crisis services.

It told BBC News Online that there are too few services and that those that exist are inaccessible and inappropriate.

Let down

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said she was not surprised by the Lawson case and said it was indicative of many they are hearing about.

"People are being badly let down.

"We have done so much to dumb down the service, we have a whole lot of reforms and a whole lot of National Service Framework in place....what we have lost is the constant care that means the space for people to stay in hospital and recover."

Ms Wallace said that if Sarah had been suffering from cancer rather than a mental health illness her case would have been handled differently and she would have received better treatment.

Marjorie Wallace of Sane said Sarah's tragedy is not unique

"To just turn her away and put her back in with her family so that they become so desperate that there is no other way out, is unforgivable," she said.

Sue Baker, of Mind, said the mental health services wanted to see the government completely revamp the way it deals with mental health care.

She said too many people are dying unnecessarily after committing suicide because they feel they have nowhere to turn.

"One in three people with severe mental illness has been turned away from mental health services. People are not accessing the services when they need them," she said.