David Marsden’s family have slammed mental health care workers for his ‘dehumanising’ treatment on a ward at a hospital he once worked at
Desperate mum Fiona tried to help her son as he was seen numerous times by his GP, A&E at Stepping Hill Hospital, as an outpatient with a psychiatrist and by the community mental health team.
David continued to deteriorate throughout the late summer months until October 16, 2019, when he was formally sectioned and admitted to the Norbury Ward, an acute mental health facility, at Stepping Hill.
Fiona slammed Norbury Ward, run by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, during her testimony in court, saying through tears: “The ward environment was not what I or David expected. It added to his lack of self-worth.
“He was in hospital to be cared for, treated to get better. It was a place where he was secure and safe from harming himself.
“But there were occasions when I witnessed him being referred to as number B22, because for some care assistants it was easier to remember his room number than his name.
“On another occasion, I was sat with David and asked for a plain envelope which I knew they would have as there was an office on the ward. The care assistant looked down their nose and said no.
“David looked at me as if to say, ‘look, see’.
“The care assistant said ‘who are you?’ I replied that I was David’s mum and that I’d come to see him.
“The care assistant said ‘oh, sorry, I thought you were one of the patients.’
“This was the treatment that was supposed to help him get better.
“Each ward round, David was insisting he wanted to go home and that he needed to be at home to sleep and get better. I felt a lot of pressure was put on me to agree to that and so I did, because what kind of mother would I be if I wanted to keep my son there, knowing how little care and compassion he was being treated with.”
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Source: Manchester Evening News, 13th July 2021
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