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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Vivienne Aitken

Suicidal Glasgow 10-year-old tells docs 'I don't want to be here anymore'

Doctors are treating a 10-year-old Glasgow boy's suicide attempts as a "phase", his worried parents claim.

Kirsty and Scott Soloman say they are living in fear after Kyle was hospitalised three times since November after trying to harm himself.

The couple are now so concerned they take turns sleeping, after their little boy told medics: "I just don't want to be here any more, I've had enough."

The Daily Record reports the Drumchapel family are now petitioning the Scottish Government to do more to help children with mental health problems.

Kirsty, 39, who is a nurse herself, explained: "We still don't have a care plan in place and Kyle has been in crisis since November.

"He told nurses and doctors at the hospital he didn't want to be here any more. Surely, a 10-year-old saying that should be enough for them to realise he is in crisis.

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"It is not treated as seriously as I feel it should be - and I don't just mean for Kyle but for loads of other kids.

"If I get to raise these issues at Parliament I will go armed with these case studies, so I can say these are real people not just statistics."

Kyle's latest attempt to self-harm prompted health workers to get him an emergency appointment this week at the NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

Kirsty believes this should have been done when he was first taken to the Royal Hospital for Children's A&E last year.

She says he has been bullied, which has increased his anxiety levels.

Kirsty and Scott, 44, a fraud detection agent at Virgin, have now safeguarded their home to prevent Kyle - who has autism and ADHD - from hurting himself.

She said: "One of us is always awake. We watch him like a hawk so he doesn't get the chance to do something. We are exhausted.

"CAMHS said they would give him 'talking therapy' via a Zoom call with a psychotherapist to help him develop an emotional toolkit.

"They did a mental health assessment on Kyle in January but we're still waiting to see the report."

Lib Dem leader Alex Cole- Hamilton said: "I stand with Kyle and his family in their quest for more support. We know to devastating costs what happens to all too many adults who seek help at times of crisis and are turned away.

"To learn this is now happening to children is a national outrage."

A spokeswoman from City of Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership said the pandemic has had "a huge impact on the mental health of patients".

She added: "We are utilising funding provided from Scottish Government to increase the mental health services we can provide, and to help deal with any waits for access to services for children and young people as we recover from Covid-19."

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