Mother’s fight for better mental health services

A LOCAL mother has spoken out about her struggle with Fermanagh’s mental health system, fearing for her teenage son amid rising suicide rates.
The child, referred to as ‘R’ to protect his identity, is now 14 and has shown signs of mental health struggles and behavioural challenges since he was just seven years old.
“My son is not a bad kid, he’s just battling struggles, which started very young,” his mother said.
“As soon as I became aware of this, I reached out for help because I believed tackling it early meant he could grow up to be a happy, secure adult who enjoyed swimming, the outdoors, and having friends.”
But that future has felt increasingly out of reach. R’s mother described years of trying to advocate for her son, only to be let down time and again by CAHMS and Social workers, the systems meant to support him.
“In July of this year, R was placed into foster care. It was a very hard decision, but I have other children to keep safe and he wasn’t just expressing thoughts of harming himself, but also of harming others,” she said.
Since then, R has been moved through six different foster homes. His most recent placement collapsed after a deeply distressing incident, which led to his transfer to a children’s residential home.
“R was removed after he was found at a bridge, a clear sign of suicidal thoughts. But instead of being admitted to a psychiatric hospital for treatment, I was pressured into signing an agreement to place him in a care home,” she said.
R’s mother requested a UNOCINI report, a structured assessment tool used to evaluate a child’s needs and coordinate support across agencies.
However, what she found in the report left her even more concerned. She noted some serious issues had been overlooked, and felt the document didn’t tell the full story.
For example, she believes a serious incident where a noose was found in her son’s room, was misrepresented.
Feeling unheard and exhausted, R’s mother eventually reached out to Pat Cullen MP, whom she said was “instrumental” in securing faster responses from CAMHS and social services.
Pat, a registered nurse, said she often sees “first-hand the life-changing impact that mental health challenges can have on individuals and their families.”
She emphasized that “more must be done to ensure that there is early intervention and that patients can get the right treatment at the right time.”
Pat urged anyone who is struggling to reach out, whether to a health professional, a family member, a friend, or even their local elected representative.