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🇦🇺 Australia /Health & Science

Mother demands mental health care changes after teen's suicide post-hospitalization

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • An 18-year-old patient died by suicide hours after leaving Perth's Fiona Stanley Hospital, a review found.
  • The teenager had attempted suicide 25 minutes before her release and had expressed suicidal intentions.
  • Her mother is calling for improvements to mental health care, while the hospital has accepted 21 recommendations for review and policy changes.

A Perth teenager died by suicide within hours of being discharged from Fiona Stanley Hospital, prompting a clinical incident review and calls for improved mental health care. Hailee Hildebrant, 18, was a mental health inpatient when she died on January 13.

I cannot figure out how they couldn't recognise the crisis she was in and still let her go.

— Stacey HildebrantHailee's mother, expressing her disbelief at the hospital's decision to discharge her daughter.

The review found that the teenager had attempted suicide just 25 minutes before she was allowed to leave the hospital. She had also made explicit statements about her intention to take her own life before going on planned overnight leave. The report noted that she had asked staff to notify her mother to collect her belongings, but her mother was no longer listed as next of kin and her contact number was unavailable.

In a mental health facility they can intervene, sometimes they're on 15-minute checks, that's enough to save somebody's life.

— Stacey HildebrantHailee's mother, highlighting the potential for timely intervention in mental health facilities.

Hailee's mother, Stacey Hildebrant, expressed her distress to 102.5 ABC Perth Radio, questioning how the hospital staff could not recognize her daughter's crisis and still allow her to leave. "In a mental health facility they can intervene, sometimes they're on 15-minute checks, that's enough to save somebody's life," she stated.

The death of Hailee is tragic. Our thoughts remain with her family, loved ones and everyone affected by her loss.

— SMHS spokespersonExpressing condolences and acknowledging the gravity of the patient's death.

The clinical incident report detailed 21 recommendations, including developing processes for identifying support persons when no next of kin is available and implementing a 'red flag' system for leave or discharge planning in such cases. A spokesperson for the South Metropolitan Health Service (SMHS) confirmed that all recommendations have been accepted and are being implemented. Mental Health Minister Meredith Hammat acknowledged the family's pain and assured that the review's findings are being treated with the utmost seriousness.

No review can undo

— Meredith HammatMental Health Minister acknowledging the pain caused by the tragedy.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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