TL:DR

The family of an autistic teenager who has spent the last six months stuck inside a psychiatric unit say he is being kept “like a prisoner”.

He was sectioned under the mental health act in September and placed in a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), which is meant to provide emergency short term care and treatment for people suffering with mental illness.

But almost exactly six months on and Matthew is apparently still languishing in the PICU, as there are no beds available at any specialist autistic unit that could meet his needs.

Matthew’s parents, Robin and Isabelle, have now started a petition calling for NHS bosses to find Matthew a space and release him from the unit.

“The system is just a maze,” said Robin. “No one explains anything to you about what’s going on, it’s just a minefield.

“And that suits them quite well. Because that way, nobody is accountable and nobody is to blame. The status quo is upheld.”

The PICU, in Woking, Surrey, is run by NHS contractors Cygnet Health. Last week Matthew fractured his wrist, after apparently getting into a fight with another child at the unit and falling over.

Robin said it took staff 24 hours to realise the seriousness of his injury before taking him to A&E.

A spokesman for Cygnet Health said the average stay at the unit was between six to eight weeks, adding Matthew’s case was “unusual”.

“Where a placement at a specialist service is not immediately available, a clinical decision is taken which may decide the most appropriate alternative is for the individual to remain in our care until a space does become available.”