Every year, 22 children die as a result of suicide in Sweden. 11-year-old Emil never received a diagnosis, and chose to take his own life. A preliminary investigation is now being launched against BUP for causing the death of another. Emil was a happy and social guy who loved football, going to school and the scouts. He had many friends and enjoyed talking and hanging out with both adults and children. And he loved going on picnics with his family. – He was our ray of sunshine. Had an incredible zest for life and an ability to express it. He was very unusual in that way. He could really express gratitude and joy over quite small things, says Emil’s mother Miriam. But when Emil is 9 years old, he begins to have strange symptoms – recurring dizziness and severe headache attacks. And more symptoms would arise, both physical and psychological. The family seeks care, but the many investigations end in dead ends. And towards the end of a long year, Emil has received one diagnosis after another and is starting to change his personality, says Miriam. – He suddenly becomes aggressive and has various outbursts, he becomes very sensitive to sounds and certain colors, very different and strange things, one after the other. “He wanted to live” But Emil never receives a diagnosis. And when he is only 11 years old, he can’t take it anymore. One day after school, Emil goes home and takes his own life. When Miriam finds him, she tries to revive her son, but it is too late. – I cannot describe to anyone what it is like to try to revive their child. It is such a terrible pain. And to tell the siblings that your little brother has suffered so badly that he felt compelled to end his life, even though we know he wanted to live. That he loved life. Initiates preliminary investigation Three independent experts with whom the family has spoken after Emil’s death believe that he may have suffered from PANS or Autoimmune Encephalitis. These are diseases for which statistics are lacking in Swedish healthcare. The diseases can occur as a reaction to an infection – such as a virus or streptococcus – which affects the brain and causes both physical and psychological symptoms. After Emil’s death, the Inspectorate for Care and Care found that Child and Adolescent Psychiatry failed in its assessment of diagnostics in the treatment of Emil. Both in terms of follow-up and collaboration. And now the prosecutor in Stockholm has also started a preliminary investigation into causing the death of another. In a written comment to Efter fem, BUP writes: “It is deeply tragic that such a young child dies by suicide and we have a responsibility to do everything we can to prevent it from happening again. BUP takes in roughly 20,000 children and young people annually, a large number of whom have more or less serious suicidal thoughts. In the vast majority of cases, these are handled well and receive the interventions needed to be able to help. I know that BUP Stockholm’s employees, through their solid work, save the lives of many of our children and young people. Suicide is rare in children and young people. Every suicide is a disaster. In the event of serious incidents, we always conduct an internal investigation as part of the self-monitoring that we must do to understand what we could have done better and what we can learn.” See the interview with Emil’s mother in the player above.
t4-general