A WOMAN who has waited years for mental health treatment says she is being failed by the NHS just like her partner, who killed himself after medics failed to spot he was suicidal.

Luke Henderson took his own life despite repeatedly asking for help from mental health services, emergency medics and NHS24 in the week before he died. His partner Karen McKeown has been waiting for counselling as she struggled to cope with Mr Henderson’s death in December 2017.

She has also been campaigning for better mental health services and has taken her fight to Parliament and Mental Health Minister Clare Haughey.

Despite her efforts, the 32-year-old said she she feels as if nothing has been learned from Luke’s tragedy. The mum-of-two from Bellshill has also been trying to get help for her 12-year-old daughter, but has so far been unsuccessful, and spent months trying to get her nine-year-old son help too.

She said: “When Luke first died and the referral was done for both of the kids, I got a letter back saying both of them did not meet the criteria for support. Now we are two years down the line and my daughter has been having flashbacks, and my son, who is now getting some treatment, says regularly that he wants to die because he just wants to be with his dad.

“I can barely leave the house, I suffer from panic attacks and anxiety all the time. I’m depressed and sometimes I just don’t know what the point of all of this is.

“People think because I’ve been campaigning, doing the petition in Parliament, that I’m so strong but I need help too and I’ve waited for a long time now asking for help. It just feels like nothing has been done.”

Ms McKeown contacted eight different services and spoke to 11 members of NHS staff in the week before her partner’s death, as she was so concerned about his mental health.

He had stopped sleeping, thought work colleagues were spying on him and making fun of him, and believed there were animals in his home.

The 28-year-old had also been asking family members to look after his partner and children if anything happened to him. Despite raising her concerns, doctors who assessed him told his partner there was no evidence he was suicidal and there was nothing they could give him to help.

He took his own life in the home he shared with Ms McKeown and their two children just days after Christmas 2017. In a letter received yesterday, NHS Lanarkshire told Ms McKeown that “due to our capacity to meet high service demand we are not able to allocate therapy appointments as soon as we were hoping to. Whilst we will attempt to see you as soon as possible, we do apologise for your wait.”

She was also asked to let them know if her “difficulties have improved” and advised “if your difficulties have deteriorated we would ask that you contacted your GP”.

“I have been asking for two years, since Luke died, for help,” she said. “I was given medication but it took a long time to get an assessment. When I eventually was assessed, which was about six months ago now, I thought it would finally mean I would get to speak to someone about what has been happening. I was wrong.”

Monica Lennon, who has been helping the family since Mr Henderson’s death, has criticised the health board for its failure to help her constituency. She said: “This is a shocking state of affairs. Luke Henderson was failed by NHS Lanarkshire and it cost him his life. Now Karen is being failed too.

“Access to mental health services should be straightforward and relatively quick. It should be immediate for people most at risk. Karen has acted with great courage and has addressed Parliament about the barriers she and Luke faced when trying to access help before his death.

“I’m appalled that she is being let down this badly. Our mental health services are simply not adequately resourced and extreme waiting times are dangerous and unacceptable.

“We have a dedicated Mental Health Minister in the Scottish Government but progress is far too slow and sadly we will see more tragic outcomes.

“This needs to be taken more seriously by Clare Haughey and her officials as health boards across Scotland are struggling to meet people’s needs quickly and safely.”

Margot McLean, NHS Lanarkshire service manager, said: “We would like to apologise to any patient who has experienced a lengthy wait for our psychological therapy services. We are currently experiencing a high level of demand and patients are being prioritised on a clinical basis.

“We would encourage Ms McKeown to contact us directly or speak with her GP who will contact our psychological therapies team on her behalf.”