Jenny was admitted to an adult psychiatric ward aged 15 after attempting suicide. She suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and secondary depression, and was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

She stayed there for four weeks but was readmitted later for five months during a total of four years’ psychiatric treatment.

Jenny – not her real name – told The Times: “There was nothing to do. No games, no groups, no form of education. One of the worst things was having no one my own age to talk to. All I saw were 40, 50 and 60-year-olds who told me they had been through the same things, and here they were still in hospital. That removed all faith I had that I would ever get better.” She feels angry that no one told her that teenagers were entitled to special care. “I didn’t know my treatment should be different. There are certain sorts of restraints that shouldn’t be used on teenagers. The only reason I found out was one day someone who was trained turned up and refused to use them [the restraints] because they were not suitable.”

Jenny, now 22, finished her treatment at 19. But she left hospital with no qualifications because no provision for education was made. “Not only did I not have any qualifications but I could not send an e-mail, use a mobile phone or even pay my own bus fare. These years are an important time when teenagers are helped to look after themselves. I was taught nothing.”

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