West Lothian mum flees country with autistic daughter to 'protect' her from psych ward

A desperate West Lothian mum left for England with her autistic teenager to "protect" her from being admitted to a psychiatric ward.

Shona McIntyre, 43, fled with her daughter Megan before the 18-year-old was due to be sectioned at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital on Tuesday. The mother claims doctors wanted to admit the teenager to the adult-only facility because she was struggling to eat, reports The Daily Record.

Shona made the decision to travel south of the border where sections issued in Scotland are revoked, shortly after the order was issued.

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Speaking to the Record, Shona said she made the decision to protect her daughter from being taken to the facility "against her own will".

She added: "Megan does not need to be locked up - she is not mentally unwell.

"An 18-year-old autistic girl does not belong in a psychiatric unit, especially not a girl who finds it difficult to communicate with others. She doesn't cope well in strange environments due to her autism and although she is 18, she is still like a very young child emotionally.

"She would have completely shut down and I know that being there would have traumatised her and caused irreparable damage. So I did what I had to do to protect my daughter."

Police issued a missing persons appeal on Thursday after the hospital alerted officers that Megan did not show up. The appeal read that she was travelling with an "older lady" and Shona and her daughter were later tracked down to an undisclosed location in England after officers traced the 18-year-old's phone.

Shona claims doctors in Scotland told officers they believed that Megan was at high risk of a cardiac incident if she did not receive treatment.

The mum added: ""If I thought my daughter was in medical danger, I'd be the first person to take her to hospital. So we went with the police to A&E down here to get her medically checked over. Megan had blood taken and tests concluded she was absolutely fine.

"After the results came back, the police let us go."

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Officers later updated their appeal to say that Megan had been traced safe and well. Shona says she begged professionals to allow her to treat her daughter at home using a special feeding tube after she raised concerns about Megan's nutritional health.

However, a decision was made by the health board to admit Megan to the hospital with immediate effect.

Shona said: "My suggestion was point-blank refused. It would have allowed her to be treated at home and to carry on with her every day life.

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"Her autism means she needs stability and routine - not to be left trying to cope in a foreign environment amongst adults who probably have quite distressing mental health problems.

"As a mum, I just couldn't allow that to happen. She is a human being like anybody else and does not deserve to be traumatised."

Shona now plans to staying in England with Megan until the section order is lifted in Scotland.

She said: "The ordeal of having to leave our home has caused immense stress to Megan but if she was sectioned, it would have been ten times worse. That is why we had to leave Scotland.

"We can't return home until the order is lifted because I am not running the risk of them taking her and locking her away. Once that is done, I will lose all power as her mum and she won't have a say over anything.

"To have to flee your home with your child for their own safety is horrendous - people have no idea of the stress it puts on a family.

"This whole situation, which has been damaging and traumatising in itself, would have been avoided if they just put her on a feeding tube at home. It is horrendous and we feel like we are being held hostage by a system that is completely flawed."

Tracey Gillies, Executive Medical Director, NHS Lothian, said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases without the consent from patients or their family.

"We would urge the family to get in contact with us directly.”