A WOMAN with schizophrenia took a series of overdoses and suffered "a catalogue of disasters" in hospital, her angry family has claimed.

Health bosses have launched an investigation after Duncan McCartney complained about the way his 26-year-old sister - whom he does not want named - was treated at Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn.

He claims she disappeared twice from the ward, despite supposedly being under strict surveillance.

Mr McCartney, 33, of Darwen, said his sister was admitted to a psychiatric ward after taking two overdoses on consecutive days.

He said she was allowed to leave the ward for a short time but took an overdose of paracetamol while she was away.

On her return to the psychiatric ward, he claimed she was put under five-minute observation, but managed to disappear for three hours and took another overdose.

Mr McCartney said when his sister returned to hospital she was put on continuous one-to-one observation, but she managed to get out of the ward again and took yet another overdose. Mr McCartney said his mother had complained to the hospital.

He added that his sister was now a patient at another hospital but the family was still angry about what had happened at Queen's Park.

"They didn't treat her like she was a human being," he said.

"There is no security. It has been a catalogue of disasters from beginning to end.

"Some of the pain and suffering she has been through couldn't be helped until she was on the right medication but there was some which could have been avoided completely."

John Dell, operations director for the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust, said: "The patient's mother has written to us outlining her concerns.

"We have written back to her and we said in that letter that if she was still unhappy she can come back to us and we will discuss the matter further with her."

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