A Wexford woman has publicly shared her recent experience seeking emergency mental health support, saying she felt compelled to speak out in the hope of highlighting what she believes are serious shortcomings in the system…
Laura Bury, from Clonroche, said she would not normally discuss such personal matters publicly but felt it was important to raise awareness of the challenges people can face when seeking help during a mental health crisis.
Laura explained that she voluntarily attended the A&E department at Wexford General Hospital after being referred by CareDoc due to concerns about her mental health.
“This usually isn’t something I would speak about, but I feel like it’s got to a point where it needs to be said and spoke about,” she said.
Describing her experience, Laura said she was initially assessed by a nurse after arriving at the emergency department.
“I want to speak about an experience I had in Wexford A&E department, bear in mind this isn’t the first time I’ve had an experience like this,” she said.
“On Tuesday I voluntarily brought myself to A&E having been sent down by CareDoc under mental health grounds. I checked in and was later triaged by a nurse who asked me, ‘What brings you in tonight?’ I replied and basically told him, in nicer words, that I was struggling and felt very suicidal.”
Laura said the nurse carried out routine observations before she returned to the waiting room to await a doctor.
She acknowledged that the emergency department was extremely busy at the time.
“At this time I completely understood the A&E department was under severe pressure with emergencies, but I chose to stay regardless,” she said.
According to Laura, she was later assessed by a doctor who again asked about her situation before referring her back to the waiting area to await the psychiatric liaison team.
She said that when she eventually met with a member of the psychiatric liaison service, she was immediately told: “Just to let you know there’s nothing we can do for you.”
Laura said the discussion continued, during which she explained how she was feeling and what support she hoped to receive.
She said the liaison worker later arranged a prescription for antidepressants, despite Laura already taking antidepressant medication. She also recalled being asked whether she had any holidays planned.
“I was asked, ‘Are you going on holidays this year?’ I replied, ‘No,’ and was told, ‘Oh maybe a holiday would do you the world of good.’ Yeah, if only we all had money to go away on holidays.”
Laura said she was advised to continue taking antidepressants, follow up with her own counsellor and was then discharged.
“I was told, ‘THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO FOR YOU.’ Sorry, what??”
Speaking about the impact the experience had on her, Laura questioned whether people experiencing severe mental health difficulties are receiving the support they need when they ask for help.
“I honestly don’t know how to feel after this experience. There’s such a stigma around speaking up about mental health and that it’s okay to ask for help, but quite frankly when one does ask for help this is how they are treated?”
She concluded by posing what she believes is a difficult question facing many people struggling with their mental health.
“I think I speak on behalf of most people when I say this… How bad do you have to be to get taken seriously? Or is it just another case of we will wait till it’s too late to do something about it?”
Wexford TD George Lawlor described the case as dreadful:
“This is a dreadful indictment to our shattered mental health ‘services’. I will be sending Laura’s experience to the Minister. This simply can’t go on,” he said.
Jason Redmond
From Gorey, Jason is the owner of Wexford Weekly. He is also a post-primary English and History teacher.
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