As we are still all grieving over the loss of Christie, another young girl, Nadia, has also taken her own life in the hands of West Lane Hospital.

Christie was one of a kind. She was a gorgeous young girl with so much talent. I listen to videos of her singing and I just cry because that young girl who had so much potential was hurting so much inside that she felt that suicide was her only way out, and West Lane hospital let that happen. I met Christie and she was so selfless and caring and she’d go to great lengths to help others. And the same goes for Nadia. A beautiful young girl who was also let down by our system. Nadia was a friend of Christie’s and it makes me feel sick to my stomach knowing that other young children are still under the care of this negligent hospital. It should never have happened the first time, never mind a second time only 6 weeks down the line. How long is this going to go on for?

I was a former patient at West Lane Hospital early on last year. Some days were better than others but the bad days always made the good days feel non-existent. Staff would say things that were very unhelpful. There was numerous occasions where i had self harmed and when staff found me they told me to get up off the floor and stop acting like a child. A staff member also told me that they’re sick of having to clean up my mess after an incident and that this isn’t the job they signed up too. It made me feel like a burden and I just wanted to disappear, I was so suicidal already and it just made those thoughts and feelings so much worse. During restraints they would mutter under their breaths that this is getting ridiculous and would tell me that other wards wouldn’t put up with people like me. The hospital was not risk assessed enough and this meant doors leading into kitchens were not always locked despite having a fully working gas oven and hobs in there and also not to mention the number of ligature points which even my family and friends were able to locate throughout the hospital. There was times when patients had to be the staff in order to save the lives of each other. Countless times I had to report too staff that another patient had their phone charger or shoe lace wrapped around their necks and daily I was having to grab pillows and place them between the wall and my friends’ foreheads so that concussion or even brain damage could be prevented. I was even put in the position of talking my friends out of self harming as I sat next to them while they had a sharp object in their hands. This was a daily occurrence and where were the staff in these cases? Probably sat in the office drinking a coffee or maybe even sat in the lounge watching the TV while scrolling through social media or doing some online shopping? Instead, us patients were put in the position of helping our friends even if it triggered our own thoughts because what else were we suppose to do? I couldn’t just sit back and watch it happen until a member of staff eventually done the welfare checks that should have been done at least 5 times whilst I was trying to talk my friend out of hurting or killing herself.

Patients were also able to easily access needles, scissors and glass objects which were left freely lying around the wards and in the activity rooms.

None of the staff have reached out to me but patients I’m still friends with who are stuck in the hospital have expressed their concerns about themselves and others who are still in there. I’m scared every morning to look at my phone incase I’ve lost another friend or someone has lost their son, daughter or loved one and it shouldn’t be like that.

I think shutting the hospital is the best option right now. Yes they could completely revamp all the wards and get new staff, but that won’t take away the events which took place there. No one is going to feel safe or looked after in a hospital where two girls were able to take their own lives so easily in the space of 6 weeks.

The hospital say that measures are being taken to prevent this kind of thing from happening again but I’m pretty sure they said that after Christie took her own life in June and if that was the case then we shouldn’t have lost Nadia just 6 weeks after Christie. So the measures that they say they are apparently putting in place clearly aren’t working and more needs to be done before this happens again.

I would just like to send all my love to Christie’s and Nadia’s families as I can’t imagine what they’re going through.

Christie and Nadia will always hold a special place in my heart and I’m so grateful to have known these two beautiful girls. I won’t stop fighting until we get these girls the justice that they deserve.

SO PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION TO GET THIS HOSPITAL SHUT DOWN!!

IF THIS HOSPITAL IS NOT SHUT DOWN, OTHER FAMILIES AND FRIENDS ARE GOING TO LOSE THEIR LOVED ONES, BUT IF WE ARE ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO GET THIS HOSPITAL SHUT DOWN, THEN FAMILIES CAN BE REUNITED KNOWING THAT THEIR CHILD, SISTER, BROTHER ETC ARE SAFE! 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW AND GET AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN TO SHARE IT. 

Thank you!