Matthew Garnett: Teen who thinks he's in prison can leave psych unit
PAA 15-year-old with autism who believes he is being held in prison after being sectioned is to be moved to a treatment unit, following a campaign.
Matthew Garnett was removed from his home in south London in September after attacking his father.
He was placed in a unit normally used for short-term emergency admissions, resulting in his family campaigning for him to be moved.
NHS England said he would be moved within weeks.
'Six-month jail sentence'
It said Matthew would be transferred from the psychiatric ward in Woking, Surrey, to St Andrew's Healthcare in Northampton, which specialises in treating patients with autism.
Writing on petition website Change.org, his mother Isabelle Garnett said: "For the last six months he has been denied this, trapped, alone, in a place unequipped to look after him."
"What I was promised would be a six-week pit stop has become a six-month jail sentence," she continued.
PAHis move has been held up by other patients awaiting transfers out of the facility, although to date more than 150,000 people have signed the family's petition calling for Matthew to be taken off the psychiatric ward.
His father Robin Garnett said he now wanted to see words become actions.
No admission date
Matthew "thinks he's in prison and is being punished for attacking us," he said.
His son has learning difficulties, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and "like a toddler" is unable to control his emotions, Mr Garnett added.
A spokesman for NHS England said: "We have every sympathy for Matthew and his family and we understand that this has been a very difficult time.
"It has been confirmed that Matthew will be moved to St Andrew's, where he will be able to receive the specialist care that he needs. We anticipate this will happen in a matter of weeks but cannot confirm an admission date at this point."
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