A single mum whose autistic child regularly attacks her says she fears his condition may lead to a fatality if he is not given the NHS help he needs soon.
The Kirklees woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, says her 10-year-old son’s mental health struggles have seen him pull a knife on her.
He regularly has violent episodes and threatens to hurt her.
She said she has had to call the police on the youngster once and also relies on help from her other son who is older.
The woman has spoken out about her desperate struggle to get help after failing to get support from the NHS.
And she has attacked Kirklees CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) for leaving her waiting for more than four years with no guarantee of any assistance in the future.
The woman, called Sarah for the purposes of this story, said CAMHS had utterly failed to help so far and would not even tell her if she was on their waiting list.
Sarah said after getting no joy from CAMHS, she could only get help from Kirklees Council by ringing the police.
“I was begging social services to get involved but they refused,” she said. “I’ve had to ring the police on my own son on one occasion – it was absolutely devastating for me.
“He doesn’t understand what he’s doing, he has all this anger that he has to get out and it’s usually directed at me.
“He demolishes his bedroom, hurls things about and then usually lunges for me – he’ll bite and say ‘I’ll kill you’.
“We’ve had three or four referrals from CAMHS but they said his issues were too complex for them to deal with.
“It’s absolutely disgusting.
“If something isn’t done we could end up with a fatality – he has drawn a knife before.
“He’s a big lad, when we go to the transition to high school I’m really worried about what could happen.
“He’s very strong and he’s standing over me already.
“I have my older son to protect me but it shouldn’t be like this – it’s neglect.
“It’s a fundamental human right to get this support.
“We currently have no support, all the services have pulled out on us.
“CAHMS admit he’s high risk but they have over 100 children waiting to be seen.
“It’s been horrendous from start to finish”.
South West Yorkshire NHS Partnership Foundation Trust, which runs the CAMHS service, said it would not comment on individual cases. But it acknowledged there were issues with access to clinicians.
Sarah added: “I’m fuming, my son is going be at least 13 or 14 before he is assessed. I’ve been battling for help since he was six.
“Staff shortages and heavy workloads are no excuse in my eyes. I’m a paediatric nurse so I know all about the problems. But to actually withhold a vital service to our kids is a disgrace.
“If the government need to cut costs do it elsewhere not from our kids and our NHS.”
Nette Carder, interim director for CAMHS services at South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: “Unfortunately, access to diagnosis for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an issue in many parts of the country, not just in Kirklees.
“The trust has a small team who support the process of diagnosing ASD in the local area.
“We acknowledge that there are currently long waiting times due to the demand on the service, and recognise that this is difficult for families. “We try to manage waiting lists as effectively as possible within the resources available and to explain the position to families.
“We recognise that the current service needs to be improved and we are working with the local CCGs as a matter of priority to re-design the service in line with national guidelines to ensure the best possible outcomes for children and young people in our area.”
“The trust would encourage any family with concerns to discuss them directly with the trust by contacting our customer services team.”
