Grieving mother's anger at Welsh mental health service 'crisis'
A mother has spoken out about the lack of mental health services in North Wales following the death of her son.
20-year-old Kale Thomas had been living with psychosis and was suffering from hallucinations before he took his own life three days after Christmas last year.
The day before, his mother, Kerry Davies-Jones, took him to the Hergest unit - Ysbyty Gwynedd’s mental health ward. Despite being told he would be admitted, Kale was sent home.
Kerry told ITV Wales’s current affairs programme Y Byd ar Bedwar, that she is angry with the way her son was treated:
Kale spent the night at his mother's house in Amlwch on Anglesey before returning to his flat. The following morning Kale had taken his own life.
Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board are investigating his death and said it is improving support for people suffering with their mental health.
However, Kale’s family are not the only ones to have raised concerns about patients being turned away from the Hergest ward.
In 2016, Y Byd ar Bedwar investigated other complaints from families that patients had not received the care they expected. At that time, Betsi Cadwaladr’s director of mental health nursing said 'patients need to feel safe' and insisted they are optimistic that they are on the 'right road' to ensure services are in place.
The latest figures for 2017 show 360 people ended their own lives in Wales in 2017.
Ynys Mon AM, Rhun ap Iorwerth, said several of his constituents have contacted him about the lack of services and reiterated calls for more to be done.
The Welsh Government said it has committed £500,000 of funding to support national suicide prevention and its Suicide and Self Harm Prevention Strategy helps 'identify and address the most vulnerable groups.'
Y Byd ar Bedwar will be broadcast tonight at 9.30pm on S4C. The programme has English-language subtitles available.
If you want to speak to someone about the issues raised in this article, you can call the Samaritans for free on 116 123.