The mother of a teenage boy who took his own life after a spell in adult psychiatric care said no young person should experience these settings.
Dr Jane Macdonnell said autistic son Harris, 19, was afraid of returning to Huntlyburn House. It is a mental health facility at Borders General Hospital in the Scottish Borders.
Harris Macdonnell with dad Dave
Harris experienced a mental health crisis at just 16.
‘No obvious autistic traits’
Paediatrician Macdonnell, from near Melrose, in the Scottish Borders, says though she had some concerns about her son’s struggles to form friendships, there were no obvious autistic traits.
The family were told he was admitted to Huntlyburn to “keep him safe”.
But he ran away from the unit before a hospital car picked him up.
He jumped out of the car when he realised it was taking him back and he suffered facial injuries.
Harris then spent two months in an age-appropriate facility and received an autism diagnosis.
His mother maintains he never accepted the diagnosis.
Took his own life
Macdonnell says she and her husband Dave have since learnt their son was probably suffering from alexithymia — an inability to express emotions.
Harris later went back to school and wrote about his experiences at Huntlyburn for an English exam.
He took his own life on August 19, 2020, after struggling with the loss of routine brought on by the Covid lockdown.
Macdonnell says his behaviour became “withdrawn and irritable” before his death.
‘Devastated’
She added: “We are devastated by the loss of our precious boy.”
A fatal accident inquiry is being held into Harris’s death.
Macdonnell wants improvements in the number of age-appropriate mental health facilities available.
She is also calling for better training, so staff know how to communicate with young autistic people who mask symptoms.
The family has set up the Harris Trust to improve the lives of young people with neurodevelopmental conditions in the Scottish Borders.
A spokesperson for NHS Borders said a review of Harris’s care was carried out and the “actions identified by the review have been implemented”.
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Published: 18 June 2024
