A MOTHER who survived the horrific Manchester Arena bomb attack along with her daughter has criticised the wait for mental health support in the aftermath.

Ruth Murrell and her 13-year-old daughter Emily, from Copster Green, were at the Ariana Grande concert on May 22 last year.

Following the attack, both were left needing specialised treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder but had to wait several weeks for an appointment.

Ms Murrell said she ended up have to go private for initial care.
Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services, has apologised and accepted that the family did have to wait for a ‘considerable period’.

The trust said that the family were now getting the support that they need from the trust’s children’s psychological services.

The comments came after a report published by Lord Kerslake criticised delays in mental health provision for young bomb blast victims.

A total of 22 people were killed, including Whalley mum Michelle Kiss, and 512 injured by suicide bomber Salman Abedi at the concert.

Ms Murrell gave evidence in the review after both she and her daughter were seriously injured on the night.

She told BBC Radio Lancashire: “Emily and I suffered really badly once we’d come out of hospital, with the mental health side, the mental trauma side of things.

“And because of waiting lists, dependent on area and which NHS trusts you’re in, we’ve ended up having to pay privately to get the help and specialised treatment for post traumatic stress disorder.”

A Lancashire Care spokesman said: “We always aim to provide a high quality and responsive service and appreciate that the family had to wait two months to access specialist services after being referred and the initial assessment.

“We would welcome the opportunity to talk to them directly about their experience and the issues that they have raised as we are not able to discuss a person’s care and treatment publicly due to patient confidentiality.

“A number of the trust’s services responded to deliver support and treatment to young people and their families in the aftermath of the Manchester attack and we aimed to provide a responsive service and good outcomes for them all.

“Therefore we are sorry to hear about the issues that this family have had.

“We are pleased that the family are now getting the support that they need from the trust’s children’s psychological services.

“We work hard to manage demand in the service but accept that the family did have to wait for a considerable period before accessing our services, which we do apologise for.”

The Kerslake Report, which looked at the mental health and emotional wellbeing support offered in the wake of the attack, found much of it was Manchester centric.

There was also criticism of a lack consistency across NHS and voluntary group services despite a meeting the day after the attack to coordinate their response.

The review also recommended that emergency plans for major incidents should incorporate comprehensive contingencies for the provision of mental health support to adults, children and young people, families and responders. 

Both Ms Murrell and her daughter gave a trophy to medical teams who helped them following the attack. 

The pair gave them a special recognition trophy during the Pride Of Britain awards at Grosvenor House, London, last year.