An autistic teenager is to be moved to a specialist facility after more than 166,000 people backed a petition by his parents to end his six-month “jail sentence” in a psychiatric ward.
Matthew Garnett, 15, was sectioned under the Mental Health Act to a psychiatric intensive care unit – usually for short-term emergency admissions – in September last year after attacking members of his family.
NHS England has now confirmed the teenager will be moved within weeks to St Andrew’s Healthcare in Northampton, which specialises in treating patients with autism.
His family said they were sceptical about the news.
Matthew’s father, Robin Garnett, said: “Nothing has changed as far as we are concerned. Matthew has always been told that he has a place at St Andrew’s and we have not been contacted by anyone from the NHS about moving him. Why should we trust them now?”
The 48-year-old added: “He thinks he’s in prison and he is being punished for attacking us.”
Matthew, who has ADHD and learning difficulties, also has ‘complex and yet unassessed mental health difficulties’ that still need investigating.
Writing on petition website Change.org, his mother Isabelle Garnett said for the past six months Matthew had been denied specialist care and was “trapped, alone, in a place unequipped to look after him.”
“We were told this was temporary and that within six weeks he would receive an autism-specific assessment, treatment and care,” she said.
“Half a year later he has not been moved. What I was promised would be a six week pit stop has become a six month jail sentence.”
Using the hashtag #makeroomformatthew, the couple, from south London, successfully managed to petition to Alistair Burt, minister for community and social care, and NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens.
The petition was a last, desperate measure, Mr Garnett said: “We felt we had to do something after half a year.”
At the weekend, NHS England said it hoped the teenager would be moved soon.
A spokesman for NHS England told the BBC: “We have every sympathy for Matthew and his family and we understand that this has been a very difficult time. It has been confirmed that Matthew will be moved to St Andrew’s, where he will be able to receive the specialist care that he needs. We anticipate this will happen in a matter of weeks but cannot confirm an admission date at this point.”