‘The ward appeared as a prison’: The way my girl was crushed by a healthcare system designed to support her
The understanding hit me with sharp clarity that the care unit housing my teenager resembled a locked ward.
Our daughter had placed her trust in the medical establishment. We had trusted equally. That confidence broke when she was moved from our local medical facility to the specialized ward at Huntercombe.
As we prepared to leave, she stepped quietly toward the patient transport alongside me and her therapist, who held her close before saying farewell.
As the patient carrier door opened at our destination, the imposing building appeared daunting. We were received and escorted up a set of stairs through secured portals, with each door shutting firmly as the staff member waited for all doors to close before continuing.
We entered a completely sealed space that was completely dark, with my eyes quickly hurting from the intense artificial light. They guided us to a central room that was completely glassed – what staff referred to as the “goldfish bowl”.
The Devastating Separation
Ruth’s hand slipped into mine, head down as they told me it was time for me to go. “But I haven’t settled her into her room or introduced myself to caregivers yet,” was met with: “Parents aren’t allowed on the ward.”
I asked once more, and they relented I could see her room, only briefly, but then I had to leave without delay. It was facility rules.
Even now, I awake suddenly in the early hours with my heart racing as I recall walking through the shared space to Ruth’s designated space. The sparse furnishings included a single bed and plastic table, with unopenable windows.
The voices became faint as they told me about the continuous monitoring by changing attendants. I put her luggage on the surface, while Ruth sat terrified on the bed before I was escorted away.
In an instant, I was confined outside the air-locked entrances, holding a paper that limited my visitation with my daughter to mere sixty minutes, two times per week.
How could I have agreed to this?
A Life Cut Short
{Our daughter, our child, passed away on February 14th, 2022 at evening on the children’s ICU at the hospital in the location. She was transferred urgently from the treatment center, an publicly funded but privately run children’s mental health center, where she had been not prevented from fatal self-injury 48 hours before.|Our beloved daughter passed away on the 14th of February, 2022 at 18:29 in the {pediatric intensive care unit|
