Suicidal resident shares traumatic experience at Griffith Base Hospital

You summon enough strength to call the suicide hotline, and they are concerned enough to reach out to paramedics to collect you and convey you to hospital for medical observation.

Brought to Griffith Base Hospital, you are left unsupervised, with free access to medication stored in the bedside table next to you.

Your doctor comes to do the rounds, looks you in the eyes, and tells you, "this bed could be used by someone who is actually sick."

It cements the feeling of worthlessness seeded earlier by not just one nurse but two, making snide remarks, not just insinuating, but speaking aloud the words "you are wasting this bed."

Sounds like something out of a twisted thriller you'd never re-watch, but this is exactly the nightmare one Griffith resident says she lived through at our own Griffith Base Hospital.

She describes the experience as gut-wrenching, cruel and unnecessary.

"It took me a long time to say 'I feel suicidal, I don't feel safe'," she says, the pain coming through a broken voice.

"They made me feel like my life meant nothing, and I was wasting everyone's time."

She said when they put her on the wards after the Intensive Care Unit, they left her with easy access to medication.

This easy access was an opportunity her troubled mind couldn't refuse.

"Two nights in a row they didn't lock it [the draw]. I told them I took it [the medication], and I said probably should let you know this is what I've done."

She has just finished a stint in rehab to address her alcohol addiction, but has not been left without trauma.

"I will not present myself to the emergency department - they will do what they've done before - judge me and then get rid of me."

RELATED

Without the support of the team at Griffith Community Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Service, which she described as amazing, she is not sure if she could've survived.

While wanting to remain anonymous, she has shared her story with The Area News to highlight the inadequacies in the system.

"In a time when Griffith is really suffering from suicide, this is just unacceptable."

There have been four suicides in Griffith since the start of the year. This stark reality seems even more desperate when looked at alongside this patient's experience.

Support groups, meetings, awareness campaigns have been run locally, everyone trying desperately to make sure people have the help they need, when they need it.

Yet disconcertingly, Griffith's Suicide Prevention and Support Group's Val Woodland has not seen an increase in people picking up the phone. She sincerely hopes people continue to reach out and save their lives.

"We have so many services available, and ours is one of them, and we are desperately trying to promote them so people know where to go for help," she explains.

"But if people don't ring us we can't help them. Please make that call before taking that drastic step.

"Sometimes, that 20 minute, 30 minute, 60 minute conversation can make all the difference."

She says if their volunteers are concerned about someone's safety, they will call triple zero or ask police to conduct welfare checks.

"We will talk to them and refer them to an appropriate service, but if we are worried about them taking their life, we will call 000 and get police or paramedics there."

In a recent stand, Murray MP Helen Dalton has demanded the Minister for Health and Medical Research release the figures of Griffith's suicide presentation, from the years 2014 to 2019.

In her statement, Mrs Dalton said Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) told her there's no need for a mental health unit at the new Griffith Base Hospital.

"I believe there's a crisis in this area. Murrumbidgee has the highest suicide rate in NSW," Mrs Dalton said.

"But none of our hospitals have an inpatient mental health facilities, and there's a lack of community based programs that can provide after hours and weekend care and support."

When approached by The Area News for comment in response to this patient's experience, MLHD said all patients are treated in accordance with Department of Mental Health policy.

They said they always welcome feedback from consumers about their services.

"Patients presenting to GBH Emergency Department (ED) with suicidal ideations are immediately triaged as urgent, in accordance with Department of Health Mental Health Policy," a spokeswoman said.

"The patient is assessed, and placed in the appropriate area and assessed by an ED Medical Practitioner ... All frontline staff participate in annual training in mental health," she said.

Griffith Community Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Service provides specialist mental health services to the region - and do not have a waiting list, she added.

"Most people who experience a mental health condition do not require hospitalisation."

MLHD said suicide prevention is the responsibility of all organisations and communities.

If you or someone you know needs support please call Griffith Suicide Prevention and Support Group on 1300 133 911, Lifelife on 13 11 14, MensLine Australia on 1300 78 99 78, or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.