The mum, who wants to be known as Mrs A, spoke to Bristol Live after we reported on the ongoing crisis in mental health care<\/a> in the Bristol and Bath<\/a> area.<\/p>\n The area\u2019s only \u2018Tier 4 mental health unit\u2019 for children and adolescents closed more than two-and-a-half years ago, and a new facility is still a long way from being created – which means scores of young people are being sent to units hours away to be treated.<\/p>\n Tier 4 mental health units are capable of treating the most seriously ill young people, many of whom have been \u2018Sectioned\u2019 under the mental health act – which is what happened to Mrs A\u2019s son.<\/p>\n He was first detained in hospital in Bristol earlier this summer, and it took almost a week for a bed to be found at a Tier 4 unit in Bournemouth, because of a lack of beds across the south west, and the lack of any kind of unit any nearer.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the Bristol Live revealed that<\/a> – from January 2024 up until the first half of this year – more than 60 young people had been sent to Dorset, Devon and Cornwall by mental health chiefs in Bristol and Bath because there is no suitable facility here.<\/p>\n Mrs A’s son became one more that this happened to. She told Bristol Live that, as well as serious concerns about how joined up the care and communication between, the sheer distance away meant parents, families, friends and loved ones found it a huge challenge to visit the vulnerable teenagers – something which mental health chiefs themselves said was a huge help in aiding recovery.<\/p>\n But the concerns over how chaotic his admission to the unit in Bournemouth was, and the lack of communication between parents and health workers back in Bristol, raises serious questions about Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership\u2019s handling of young people in mental health crisis.<\/p>\n History repeating<\/p>\n Back in 2017, the death of a Bristol teenager called Becky Romero<\/a> prompted one of the first serious and official criticisms of AWP. The coroner at her inquest ruled that her death was an accident contributed to by the \u2018neglect\u2019 of the NHS<\/a>.<\/p>\n Like Mrs A\u2019s son, Becky had been sent to a mental health unit in Dorset<\/a>, and the coroner later described how a lack of communication between health carers there, in Bristol and her parents meant she effectively \u2018fell through the net\u2019 in the weeks before her death.<\/p>\n Becky Romero, from Bedminster Down, who took her own life in July 2017<\/p>\n Mrs A told Bristol Live that a similar story unfolded with her son this summer, some nine years later.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lack of control that AWP have once a patient has left the area,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t realise this until he was already at Bournemouth and his social worker didn\u2019t realise this either.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen AWP section someone, they literally have to beg another Integrated Care Board to take them. They have made a clinical decision based on their own experience of a patient, but the new mental health team question that decision constantly – they do not take AWP\u2019s word for anything.<\/p>\n \u201cHis care plan was delayed. He was detained for a week and Dorset still didn\u2019t have all his notes. When he turned up there, they didn\u2019t even know why he had been sectioned. They didn\u2019t even know he is autistic.<\/p>\n \u201cAt his first meeting, Dorset made it clear they didn\u2019t want him there. He was sectioned for a week and there was still no care plan in place. The staff there do not keep parents informed because they expect AWP to do, but we have no contact details for anyone in AWP, just the basic CAMHS email – it\u2019s very distressing and confusing,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Pebble Lodge in Bournemouth<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like no one is in control and we are worried that key elements of his needs will be missed because it is so messy,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there were Tier 4 beds in Bristol it would be completely different, and I believe a more positive outcome could be automatically expected,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The challenge of distance<\/p>\n Young people in mental health crisis in Bristol are sent to Bodmin in Cornwall<\/a> – a five-hour, 270-mile round trip. They may also be sent to a unit in Plymouth, which is slightly closer, or Bournemouth – where Mrs A\u2019s son ended up – which is a similar five-hour, 150 mile round trip.<\/p>\n As well as being transferred to a completely different mental health team, that physical distance, and time, is another huge challenge for parents and their children.<\/p>\n \u201cWe visited him every day for the first week, and every other day since. We have also taken friends to visit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a two and a half or three hour drive in one direction, and seven hours in one direction on public transport. Each trip costs us about \u00a3100 in fuel and food, and that\u2019s not including lost income. There is no financial help and we had to reduce visits to twice a week, which he isn\u2019t happy about,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The Sowenna CAMHS unit, in Bodmin(Image: DCM)<\/p>\n The result is that young people from Bristol in the units in Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, end up not being visited as much as local teenagers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hospital said it is unusual for parents to visit so much, and that for a lot of the kids it\u2019s once a month on average,\u201d Mrs A said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere would be lots of reasons for families not visiting regularly, but the finances will play a huge part. We have spent \u00a32,000 visiting him in just a couple of weeks, and that was all our savings. I have lost \u00a3750 in income for unpaid time off – it\u2019s just not sustainable,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n What happened to Riverside?<\/p>\n The Tier 4 unit in Bristol was called Riverside, and was based at the NHS\u2019s Frenchay Hospital campus in north Bristol. It closed in January 2024, after the death of Lucy Curtis, a 17-year-old from Almondsbury, who was found unresponsive in her room there, just after Christmas 2023.<\/p>\n At her inquest earlier this summer, the coroner found AWP\u2019s actions in various aspects of her care possibly or probably contributed to her death<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lucy Curtis was 17 when she died on January 1, 2024, following an incident of self-harm at Riverside Adolescent Unit at Blackberry Hill Hospital(Image: Family handout)<\/p>\n But the coroner, Dr Peter Harrowing, opted not to make any formal recommendations about the lack of a Tier 4 unit, after hearing reassurances from senior AWP officials that the issue was being dealt with.<\/p>\n Bristol Live understands AWP chiefs have decided Riverside is no longer fit for purpose, and a new unit will have to be created – but little has been done to make that happen in the 2\u00be years since it was suddenly closed, or in the more than three months since Lucy Curtis’ inquest.<\/p>\n After her inquest, Lucy Curtis\u2019 parents told Bristol Live<\/a> they wanted to see a Tier 4 replacement for Riverside, and health minister Dame Diana Johnson told Bristol Live in August that the situation was \u2018appalling\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are still no confirmed plans for a replacement in-patient mental health unit for children and young people in the Bristol and Bath area, and it is understood that around eight to ten young people from the city are currently being treated down in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset<\/a>.<\/p>\n What do AWP say?<\/p>\n Bristol Live put Mrs A\u2019s experiences of what that means to families and young patients to AWP, and asked again what specific progress had been made on creating a new Tier 4 unit in Bristol, three months after the Avon Coroner had been reassured it was in hand.<\/p>\n AWP confirmed it was still the plan to open a new Tier 4 unit, and it was still working on that. The health trust apologised to parents, and said it appreciated the challenges of young people being sent so far away.<\/p>\n Barry and Michelle Curtis(Image: PAUL GILLIS \/ Reach Plc)<\/p>\n \u201cWe appreciate the concerns raised by young people, parents and carers about children being admitted to mental health inpatient beds far from home,\u201d an AWP spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese placements can present challenges, and we understand the impact this can have on families.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the temporary closure of Riverside, we have taken steps to strengthen how care is coordinated when a young person is admitted to an alternative unit. These include improving admission planning to better involve young people and their families; working with the South West Provider Collaborative to strengthen partnership between the units across the region; and undertaking weekly reviews of all young people who are being supported in an alternative placement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also ensure every young person has allocated a dedicated key worker to act as their consistent point of contact, and our community CAMHS teams remain actively involved throughout the admission to support care planning and to make sure discharge back home is as well\u2011prepared as possible,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Riverside Adolescent Unit is based on the Blackberry Hill Hospital site (general site image)(Image: Google Maps)<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, we acknowledge the frustration regarding communication and coordination between organisations, and we sincerely apologise to any family who feels their experience has fallen short of the standard they should expect,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On the lack of a Tier 4 unit since January 2024, AWP said it was still working on plans. \u201cWe are strengthening our existing local offer through our community-based crisis and intensive support service, enabling more young people to be safely supported at home, and reducing the need for hospital admission wherever possible,\u201d said the AWP spokesperson.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also remain firmly committed to providing local inpatient beds for local young people and continue to work closely with our partners to progress this.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile achieving this requires support across the wider system, we are hopeful that we will be able to share more detailed plans as this work develops.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have now started engagement sessions with young people and families who have experience of CAMHS inpatient services to ensure their voices shape the design and feel of a future service.<\/p>\n The Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (Image: Google Maps)<\/p>\n \u201cWe recognise this is taking some time but are confident of creating a service that better reflects what young people and families say they need,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n AWP said any parent who is concerned about the lack of joined up working when their child is sent so far away should raise them.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would ask parents, carers and young people who have concerns about any aspect of their care to raise them with their care team, through the Family Ambassadors service or through AWP\u2019s formal feedback and complaints process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe value openness and transparency and the feedback we receive is key to addressing any concerns and assists us with making improvements. We want to reassure families that no-one will be disadvantaged in any way because of sharing their views, raising concerns, or providing feedback,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n ‘Gaslighting’<\/p>\n Mrs A described that response as \u2018gaslighting\u2019, and said in her experience AWP\u2019s communications channels were essentially closed even to talk about their patients, let alone complain or raise concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were told he was going to Bournemouth and we had to Google the phone number. We called them when he was on his way and they said: \u2018Oh great, we are glad you called, we don\u2019t have contact details for you\u2019,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were given the name of his keyworker and he emailed us to introduce himself almost two weeks later. Our \u2018family ambassador\u2019 didn\u2019t get in touch for a week, and we hadn\u2019t even been told we had one or what they do. They had limited slots to meet and in the end we couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we have wanted from the start is for someone to tell us what they are actually doing while he is in there because we just don’t know.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have had no meaningful contact with AWP since the admission. There were two meetings at Bournemouth at the start, and the second one was a \u2018discharge planning meeting\u2019, to which I said \u2018how about we talk about the plan while he in here, before we start talking about discharge?\u2019\u201d she added.<\/p>\n This early desire to plan for discharge, almost immediately after the young person is first admitted, was highlighted by the coroner at Lucy Curtis\u2019 inquest<\/a> as one of the key factors that potentially contributed ultimately to her death.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Becky-Romero-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Pebble-LodgeJPG.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Sowenna,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0_Sowenna-award.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Lucy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1_JS409955481_result.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Barry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0_BRI_PG_140726curtis-44.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Riverside](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0_Riverside-Adolescent-Unit.png\")
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0_JS189496654.jpg\")
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