Family left distraught after husband discharged from Karratha Health Campus despite having suicidal thoughts

A wife is fearing for her husband’s life after he was discharged from a hospital emergency department with no mandatory safety plan — despite telling staff he was having suicidal thoughts. Instead, he was sent home with two pamphlets for community alcohol and drug services. It comes after The West Australian on Wednesday revealed a mother’s desperate plea for inpatient mental health services in Karratha after her 21-year-old son Machlan Felix took his own life in February. Despite presenting to ED following a suicide attempt, Mr Felix was sent home without proper psychiatric review. His mother, Kristie Grabenhofer, has since launched a petition, which she plans to submit to State parliament, attracting more than 700 signatures and calling for an inpatient/outpatient mental health facility in Karratha and more psychiatrists in the region. The wife of the man recently sent away from the hospital, who wished to remain anonymous, could not hold back tears as she told of her husband being discharged from Karratha Health Campus. “My husband went into the emergency room for suicidal intentions and got discharged because he was intoxicated,” she said. The Karratha woman said her partner “suffers from depression and has done for a long time”. When he is in a depressive episode, he drinks heavily, she said. “He came to me and said he needed to go to hospital (the emergency department) and that he wasn’t thinking good thoughts, and he needed and wanted help. He was still intoxicated at this time as he had drunk a lot,” she said. Despite proactively presenting to the ED with suicidal ideation, his diagnosis was recorded as alcohol intoxication. Less than three hours later, he was discharged and sent home alone. “He got sent home with two pamphlets, and that is it. There was no written down plan or follow-up,” his wife said. “They are treating what they can see physically instead of what’s on the inside. He drinks to deal with the depression.” WA Health policy dictates it is mandatory for any suicidal patient to have a written safety plan upon discharge, which includes “details about follow-up arrangements and dates of review appointments” and that they are not sent home alone. Medical professionals must also “attempt to make direct contact as soon as possible after discharge, and at least within 24-48 hours, with a mental health consumer who may be at risk of suicide”. But she claims none of this happened. Discharge papers, seen by The West Australian, revealed the man presented to Karratha Health Campus earlier this month “with suicidal ideation”. More detailed notes, received by the family a week later, said he “feels like ending his life when overwhelmed” but does not want to commit suicide. There was no mention of his mental health history nor the three presentations he has made to the ED for suicide attempts and ideation in the past four years — including an inpatient stint at KHC for several days last year. “Nil formal plans and nil previous attempts”, the notes said. “They have access to his records and would be able to see he was in last year. They held him because he went in and said he was going to hurt himself,” his wife said. “He did the same thing this time, saying that he was not okay and was going to hurt himself, and they let him go.” To make matters worse, she said getting a referral to a mental health professional also usually takes several weeks. “We could probably be waiting another month or two to even be able to get into a mental health service,” she said. “Are we just meant to hold on to shattering hope in the meantime?” She is terrified at the prospect of losing her partner and the father of her children. “I don’t want my kids growing up without their dad,” she said. WA Country Health Service executive director Paula Chatfield denied the hospital had failed to offer appropriate care to a suicidal patient, saying there was “no evidence to suggest shortcomings in the care, or follow-up care”. “We have an expert team that closely monitors and analyses mental health-related presentations at our emergency departments,” she said. “We have reviewed their presentation and can confirm there is no evidence to suggest shortcomings in the care, or follow-up care, provided by our staff. “We also want to be clear that we would not release someone from our care who was assessed as being at immediate risk to themselves.” She said the WACHS had reviewed the patient’s medical notes thoroughly and “can confirm the assessment, treatment, and information provided to patient and carer was appropriate. All relevant policies were followed”. Despite the strong denials, Ms Chatfield apologised to the family and said WACHS would “welcome the opportunity to meet with them to discuss their experience”. Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 RuralLink 1800 552 002 (after hours)