Bereaved dad calls hospital 'a chaotic hell-hole'

This article contains details of suicide and self-harm

A mental health hospital for children was a chaotic "hell-hole", a father has told his teenage daughter's inquest.

Emily Moore, 18, from Shildon, fatally injured herself in February 2020 while being detained by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV).

Her father David told jurors he raised the alarm about her care at West Lane Hospital in Middlesbrough and tried to warn doctors at Lanchester Road Hospital near Durham of her suicide risk hours before her fatal act.

Other patients said West Lane was "awful" and it was up to the ill young women to look out for each other as staff did not care, Emily's inquest in Crook heard.

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Emily's father said she began experiencing severe mental health issues at 15, which ultimately led to her being diagnosed with emerging emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD).

She was detained at West Lane's 14-bed Newberry ward between March and July 2019.

He said the ward was "totally different" to what he would expect from a hospital, adding: "I wondered why our daughter was there because she certainly wasn't getting any care."

He said the staff stayed in their own room where he saw them "looking at social media, booking holidays, having coffees [and] giggling on".

"It certainly wasn't a hospital I am accustomed to," Emily's father told jurors, adding: "It was a hell-hole."

He said regular meetings with Emily's doctors usually descended into arguments and he admitted becoming "quite abusive".

"When you're trying to save your daughter's life you become that type of person, you want answers."

He told the inquest his "kind-hearted, loving and caring" daughter had multiple self-harm incidents in the hospital, including 22 when she was supposed to be one-to-one observation, and staff were "putting her down all the time" and would "call her names".

He said he contacted the BBC to raise his concerns about West Lane and staged a protest outside with a banner reading "this hospital is slowly killing my daughter, listen to the parents".

The inquest heard Emily was moved in July 2019 to Ferndene, a more secure unit in Prudhoe and run by the care of Cumbria, Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW).

David Moore said TEWV and CNTW were like "chalk and cheese", with the latter offering "a lot more structure and security" and giving him the "immediate feeling this could be the right place for Emily".

She was "100%" happier at Ferndene and so were her family, the jury heard.

But when she turned 18 she had to be moved to an adult hospital. which led her back into TEWV's care at Lanchester Road Hospital on 6 February 2020, two days after her birthday, the inquest heard.

On the morning of 13 February, Emily's father contacted the Tunstall ward to raise his concerns about a social media post she had just published commemorating a friend who had died in West Lane the previous summer.

The post marked the girl's 18th birthday and Emily had written worrying phrases including "until we meet again", the jury heard.

He said it did "not sit right" in his "heart or head" and wanted to flag it to her carers, who told him "don't worry Mr Moore, we will keep an eye on her".

Less than four hours later the hospital contacted him at work to tell him he needed to get to University Hospital of North Durham immediately, the inquest heard.

Emily was declared dead there two days later having never regained consciousness.

David Moore told the inquest he had "a lot of very strong views" about his daughter's care and both TEWV hospitals were "chaotic" and "not run properly".

In a statement read to jurors, a lifelong friend of Emily's said the teenager rapidly changed and declined at West Lane.

"It was as if her personality had been stripped," the friend said, adding Emily "had lost her spark" and "her interest in her future seemed to fade each day while under the care of TEWV".

Emily "seemed much happier" at Ferndene and "thrived with the routine" that had been "lacking" at West Lane, the inquest heard.

In statements, three other young women who had been at West Lane with Emily said they felt it was up to patients to care for each other and intervene in self-harm episodes as staff would not.

They said Emily was a "lovely kind girl" with an "infectious laugh" who helped others despite having her own struggles, but she was "mistreated" and did not get the care she needed.

One of the women said the hospital was "awful" and staff were "mean" .

A second woman said she did not feel safe at West Lane and still suffered flashbacks of patients screaming about being hurt by staff.

The third said there was "no routine" and she saw Emily's condition "deteriorate", with staff leaving her unattended or treating her "as if she had been naughty".

The inquest has heard West Lane bosses were warned about problems and it was accepted she did not get the care she deserved.

The inquest continues.

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