A mum has shared how her daughter screamed 'I don't want to die' after she was turned away from an NHS hospital because of her age.
The schoolgirl, who has been given the name Danielle to protect her privacy, was at home in Liverpool when she took an overdose of tablets on April 25.
Danielle, 16, said she "instantly regretted" taking the tablets and phoned her mum, who took her to Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
However, on arrival to the hospital, Danielle's family said they were told to take her to the Royal Liverpool Hospital instead due to her age.
The 16-year-old's mum, who did not wish for her or her daughter to be named, told the Liverpool Echo: "I got a phone call off [my daughter] saying 'i've taken tablets.' 'I said stop now, don't take anymore. I'm on my way home'.
"I said 'you phone an ambulance while I'm waiting for a taxi - that way it will come quicker'. My sister ran around to [my daughter] because she only lives around the corner."
Danielle's family claim they were advised by North West Ambulance Service to take her to the children's hospital - but say they were told by a triage nurse to take Danielle to the Royal Liverpool Hospital instead because she was 16.
Danielle's mum said the nurse at reception went away and spoke to a consultant, before returning and pointing to a poster on the wall which outlined the hospital's age policy.
"It said something along the lines of 'we don't see patients over the age of 16 years old."
An Alder Hey spokesperson told the ECHO while they can't comment on individual cases, their emergency department can only offer treatment to young people under the age of 16.
The Liverpool Echo understands this is due to issues surrounding insurance.
Danielle's mum said: "The nurse said 'she's got a three hour window to get to the Royal'.
"At that time it was so serious. She'd taken quite a lot of tablets that you'd expect any hospital to see her.
"I was disgusted. I said 'the ambulance service said take her to you.' He said no we can't see her.
"It was [Danielle's] mental health that made her do it in the first place but then she's been turned away from a hospital which was making her more anxious. She said 'mum, I don't want to die.'
A spokesperson for North West Ambulance Service said: “We hope [name] continues to recover well after what must have been a very frightening experience. We would be happy to discuss the incident with her parents and invite them to contact our patient safety team so we can undertake a detailed investigation."
