Desperate patient, 26, has been living with a toothbrush inside her for 10 months after swallowing it on the secure treatment unit where she has been held for seven years
- Ayla Haines, 26, has been living with a toothbrush inside her for 10 months
- She was admitted to an assessment unit seven years ago after battling anorexia
- Her family say she is wants 'to end it all' and fear it could cause 'serious damage'
- It comes amid claims government is not doing enough to move people out of Assessment and Treatment units
A woman has been living with a toothbrush inside her for 10 months after swallowing it on a secure psychiatric treatment unit where she has spent the last seven years.
Ayla Haines, 26, of Carmarthen, Wales, was admitted to an assessment unit when she was 19 after struggling with anorexia and other mental health illnesses.
Her family have told how she is 'desperate to end it all' amid claims the government is not doing enough to move people out of these Assessment and Treatment Units.
They treat vulnerable young people who are deemed to be a danger to themselves, and patients are supposed to be admitted for up to 18 months - but the average stay is more than five years.
Ayla's mother Jane Haines (right) told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme: 'She is so desperate to end it all, she currently has a toothbrush inside her. Pictured left, Ayla Haines, with a bandage on her head, from an injury she sustained while headbanging
Ayla's mother Jane Haines, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme: 'She is so desperate to end it all, she currently has a toothbrush inside her.
'It is still stuck inside her. They said it would pass naturally, but that hasn't happened.
'There is a possibility that it could cause serious damage.'
She added: 'She's my only child. She means everything to me. She's my life. It is just unbelievable. I am living a nightmare.
'You couldn't imagine this happening to anyone.'
Ms Haines said Ayla's life on the medium secure unit 200 miles away from her home involves her spending her days from 7.30am until 9.30pm in one room.
Ms Haines said Ayla's life on the medium secure unit 200 miles away from her home involves her daughter (pictured when she was a child) spending her days from 7.30am until 9.30pm in one room
She told the programme: 'She hasn't been out of that ward for the past year, apart from once, and apart from hospital visits.
'We haven't been able to see her for the past year. We are only allowed three ten minute phone calls per week.
She added: 'She's got a huge bald patch on her head where her hair will never grow back, from all the head banging she's done.
'One of the doctors said possibly she's caused more brain damage. I don't see a happy ending really.
Ayla's grandmother Judy Haines (left, alongside her daughter Jane) said: 'We are powerless and have to sit back and watch her suffer. It's torture for her and for us.'
Ayla's grandmother Judy Haines said: 'We are powerless and have to sit back and watch her suffer. It's torture for her and for us.'
A social worker at the unit where Ayla is staying told the family in June 2018 that 'iIn respect to the toothbrush Ayla has had an x ray and the general hospital reported that they expect it to pass naturally.
'The ward team will continue to monitor her physical observations regularly.'
The ATU where she is staying said it was unable to provide comment on an individual case. But it said it, 'works with every individual to design a package of care around them, to keep them safe and help them progress back to the community'.
The hospital where Ayla (pictured) is staying told the BBC they are closely regulated and are monitored by the Care Quality Commission
The government said in 2015 that it was committed to reducing inpatient numbers in England by at least 35 per cent, although it has only relocated 20 per cent so far, the BBC reports.
It means that 2,000 patients remain in them and the government has extended the original March 2019 deadline to 2020.
Experts say the average placement cost of keeping one person in an ATU is more than £3,000 per week.
ATU's first came under scrutiny in 2011 when the BBC's Panorama programme exposed abuse at the Winterbourne View unit in Hambrook, Gloucestershire.
The government said it would end their use for those capable of living in the community with support through a programme called Transforming Care - which cost £10million.
Dan Scorer, head of policy at Mencap, told the BBC: 'People are spending many, many years in there, they shouldn't be.
'In the same way asylums were closed, these places need to be closed and people need to be supported in the community.'
Another case study featured in the BBC's report include Linda and Chris Hutchings' 27-year-old daughter, who lives in a secure unit in the East Midlands.
She was sectioned aged 14 after battling with an eating disorder and depression.
Her father Chris told the programme: 'Can you even envisage another situation where a human being is locked up on the presumption of guilt? On what they might do to themselves or others? You lose that basic right to be free.'
Birmingham City Council, which is responsible for their daughter's care, said it could not comment on individual cases.
Labour's shadow care minister, Barbara Keeley said: 'They are like the Bedlam institutions in Victorian times.
'This is a hidden horror. There have been 40 deaths in these units in 2015, nine of those were people under 35.'
A Department of Health spokesman said: 'We are determined to reduce the number of people on the autism spectrum with learning disabilities in mental health hospitals, and significant investment in community support has already led to a 20% reduction.
'The NHS is committed to reducing inpatient numbers by 35% by 2020.'
The hospital where Ayla is staying told the BBC they are closely regulated and are monitored by the Care Quality Commission.
