Dear Sirs

I am writing with personal evidence regarding suicide.

I would be extremely grateful if my name could be kept anonymous as I do not want my son recognised in this capacity.

In August 2017 my son became very unwell with depression. He had been battling this for three years whilst away in university. Being a young man he had not discussed this with his family so we were unaware. As a young teenager he had cut his arms and I did not find out for several years.

One Saturday evening, XXXXXX went into his room to find him collapsed with a cord around his neck. He was not coherent so we rang an ambulance. He then became very agitated and upset and tried to leave the house. My husband stopped him but we ended up ringing the Police. We waited around forty minutes for an ambulance. During that time he was extremely distressed, trying to self harm and not making sense. I felt that he should have been sectioned for his own safety.

After being assessed by paramedics I went with him to A&E at XXXXXX around midnight. By 6am he had not been seen. I spoke to a nurse who informed me that there was no-one qualified in mental health care to see him anyway.

We went home and rang the Out of Hours GP service. We took him to an appointment that morning. He was afraid to go and also felt embarrassed.

He was with the GP for a few minutes. Basically, he was told that if he felt like that again he should go back to AQ&E. We left and my son felt like he had wasted the GP’s time.

My husband was not satisfied and rang back. We were given another appointment that afternoon. We saw a different GP who was far more thorough, spoke to us and started putting care into place.

My son then attended a mental health outpatient appointment at XXXXXXX Hospital.

He still didn’t want to discuss this with the family, so went to the appointment alone.

He was seen by two female colleagues. They did not introduce themselves or give an outline of the appointment and what to expect. They went straight into personal and difficult questioning. They surmised that my son didn’t have mental health issues and they couldn’t do anything to help. Yet again, he was humiliated and felt that he had wasted their time. Our GP has remarked that mental health services at XXXXXX is very poor.

At the second out of hours appointment, the receptionist gave me the details of a charity: “Jacob Abraham Foundation”. I rang them the next day and arranged for my son to have an assessment. They fitted him in within 48 hours and rang to give me support at length. After his initial assessment he reported that “it was the best thing he’d ever done”. This possibly saved his life.

They saw him for several sessions, free of charge. They are at the end of the phone 24 hours.

It is very sad that a charity has to pick up the pieces. Suicide amongst young males has reached epidemic proportions in South Wales.

We were lucky. We were signposted to the correct help. There will be young men with no families and no idea where to seek help.

This is an issue which needs to be addressed with immediate priority.

Regards

XXXXXXXXXXXX