NEWS: Three teens die after government closes mental health facility.

Three seriously ill teenagers died despite the Queensland Government receiving repeated warnings about the dangers of closing a specialised mental health facility for young people in Brisbane, government documents reveal.

The Barrett Adolescent Psychiatric Centre at Wacol provided 24/7 care for teenagers at serious risk of suicide, but it was closed down by the State Government in January, with families of patients told equivalent community mental health services would be provided closer to the patients’ homes.

Three former patients – Will Fowell, Caitlin Wilkinson and Talieha Nebauer – died since its closure in January, with the coroner investigating.

As health department, West Moreton Hospital and Health Service documents obtained by the ABC under Right to Information laws show, experts warned the Government that a tier-3 care facility like the Barrett centre was essential.
“Tier 3 is an essential component… there is a small group of young people whose needs cannot be safely and effectively met through alternate service types,” the Queensland Government documents reveal.

The documents also show that health practitioners wrote to the Health Minister urging him to keep the centre open with one staff member warning of “the risk of death or severe injury to the adolescents by their own hand if they are not cared for in a unit like Barrett”.

The Government was also told that managing the troubled teenagers in the community was “associated with complexities of risk to self and others”.

A report commissioned by Queensland Health stated bluntly that: “Interim service provision if BAC closes and Tier 3 is not available is associated with risk.”

The ABC spoke to the parents of the three teenagers and they were united in their criticism over the closure of the Barrett Centre and the transitional arrangements for their children.

Justine Wilkinson said the children went to the Barrett centre when they were a suicide threat where they were monitored 24 hours a day and always in contact with one dedicated staff member.

Jo Olliver said her child had gone “from his lovely support at the Barrett with his teachers, the counsellors, the psychiatrist, the nursing staff, all the other kids, a whole lot of activities to being with strangers in a unit”.

Queensland Health Department spokesman Dr William Kingswell yesterday told the ABC that the agency “tried to get better care in place closer to people’s homes”.

“Those three children we failed. The coroner will tell us in what ways we failed,” he said.

While the documents obtained by the ABC show that a government-appointed expert panel considered a tier-3 facility like the Barrett Centre essential to ensure the safety of a small group of young people, Queensland Health says appropriate tier-3 care was available, including two beds at the Mater Hospital.

A report, commissioned by Queensland Health, into how the transition was handled was released this week and found staff at the centre led an exhaustive and meticulous process and went the extra mile to ensure appropriate plans were put in place.

However, the transition occurred in an atmosphere of crisis as the January deadline loomed.

The report’s co-author, associate professor Beth Kotze, said there was an escalation of distress among patients.

“There appears to have been a contagion effect of distress and anxiety amongst the adolescents,” she said.

The Queensland Coroner is now investigating the deaths of Will Fowell, Caitlin Wilkinson and another former patient, 18-year-old Talieha Nebauer.

This story was originally published on ABC and has been republished with full permission. You can read the original story on the ABC website here.

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