Bondi attack.

I'm an Aussie, with my son and his family living in Sydney (I live in another State). My first thoughts were about my 18yr old grandson who has gained so much independence since leaving school, driving and going out (drinking?) with Uni mates. My son rang to say that my grandson was safe. I have since learned he was at the shopping centre in the morning when the attacker was there. How quickly things could have turned out badly as they did for the families of the other victims.

i don’t know why very ill people are treated so badly
Lack of money and willingness.
In the early 2000s my friend was a district psychiatric nurse.
Part of his remit was to inject ( or administer tablets) to patients who suffered from bi-polar or schizophrenia.
That system was stopped in 2004. Many of us saw first hand the fall out from this.

What happens is they take someone overtly mentally in into hospital ( best case scenario) but they only keep them for a few days . No follow up and no one to make sure they are taking their drugs. It’s a human rights issue,they say. What about the rights of others affected by their illness? No, they don’t have any.

Bluebelle for the hardcore mental illnesses - schizophrenia and bipolar - there are established medications which with medical supervision can help.
In the event of an emergency, go to A&E.
I am a bit puzzled to be fair by the role social workers play simply because in my experience, these illnesses present as chemical imbalances of the brain. A psychiatrist is needed more than anyone else to understand the chemical treatments available to stabilise the suffering patient.

ronib

BlueBelle

ronib have you any idea how hard it is to get a bed for a mental health patient, even one in crisis in UK
They are in woefully short supply and mental health workers can spend days ringing round trying to grab any bed they can find which may be in another part of the country altogether

Bluebelle yes. I am very aware of the shortcomings in mental health provision.
I don’t understand how or why very ill people are treated so badly. It’s time for change.

Because the government have not invested anything like enough money into what has now become a national tragedy There are so few places for these people to get the treatment needed The mental health workers have huge caseloads and are becoming ill themselves people are waiting months or years for help and the problem grows and grows
The whole situation lies at the hands of the government and their use of (or not use) of money It has been drifting down the scale of need for years
Unfortunately when you ve get very mentally ill people with little support it impinges on all the family and they become ill so the problem grows
Drink and drugs play a part too There has been an explosion in mental health problems and what a big question why is ?

The baby’s mum died. Hubby got to her bedside in time.
Inspector Amy Scott was in the shopping centre, heard the call and raced up to the 5th floor, confronted the attacker told him to drop the knife- he didn’t he lunged - and she shot him.
The guy on the escalator with the bollard is a French national visiting we offer him Citizenship!
The perp was a 40 y/o white Australian schizophrenic from Toowoomba - and off his meds and attacked mainly young women. 😪
His dad and mum devastated for the families - fathers words after saying he loved his son who was “a very sick boy. - how do I love a monster”
🙏🏻🇦🇺

BlueBelle

ronib have you any idea how hard it is to get a bed for a mental health patient, even one in crisis in UK
They are in woefully short supply and mental health workers can spend days ringing round trying to grab any bed they can find which may be in another part of the country altogether

Bluebelle yes. I am very aware of the shortcomings in mental health provision.
I don’t understand how or why very ill people are treated so badly. It’s time for change.

RunaroundSue

Only a few weeks ago I was in town and there were a few mentally handicapped people being taken out by their care home helpers. As I was walking along the pavement, a man, who was with his carer, threw out his arm and grabbed me by the throat and would not let go. His carer was struggling to make him let go but he just hung on to my throat tightly. It took two more carers to rush to help us and to unclench his hand from around my throat. They just apologised and I left it at that but when I look back, this man could have really hurt me and I wondered later if I should have reported the incident to the police but by then it was too late.

The main problem was that each mental patient only had one carer with them and the other two carers had to leave their patients to help me.

I had a red mark around my throat the day after but no pain. It all happened so fast that I never saw it coming and that is how easy it is for someone walking past to inflict an injury on you.

sue.. It sounds like a serious incident.. As these were people with Learning disabilities they are not in the same system as people with Mental Health problems. It would be very unusual for people with MH illness to be on an accompanied walk. Thus it is quite easy and common for people to become really mentally unwell without anyone noticing,or any care available,, it is very difficult nowdays to become part of the MH system in the NHS. But in your position I would contact that Care Home and alert them to what happened,it should certainly have been recorded and it could happen again..

ronib have you any idea how hard it is to get a bed for a mental health patient, even one in crisis in UK
They are in woefully short supply and mental health workers can spend days ringing round trying to grab any bed they can find which may be in another part of the country altogether

In the UK there’s a system for sectioning patients who need to be detained in hospital for treatment. I don’t know if Australia has this capacity? I don’t fully understand why there’s some reticence to keep people safe and that includes the person who is unwell and also innocent bystanders. I wish health care everywhere could prioritise mental health. It is fixable up to a point.

Yes those poor parents. They were so brave and sincere. Tragedies all round.

All it takes is for someone to see a vision, to see a face in someone’s clothes, or notice an unknown movement and to them it becomes real danger they have to challenge

I feel so much for the families of those killed but I also shed a tear for that poor man’s father who said something like Everyone is calling him an animal but to me he is just my much loved, son he was crying and apologising
It’s so bloody sad all round

Ref my message I should have
'someone else was stabbed' - think it was the Vicar - in a Church.

Also been someone (a Vicar I think - in a Church the day after this awful event.

ronib

Schizophrenia has been known about as a treatable medical condition for many years. It is time the world recognised this and other mental health illnesses and learned how to deal with them.

The problem is when/if they stop taking the medication. They cannot be forced to and according to his parents he had stopped. We have had several cases in this country in the past where someone has been stabbed to death by a schizophreniac who stopped taking their medication.

And how terrifying for the city to now have another stabbing at a church there.

Yes just one mentally challenged attacker

My heart goes out to the victim’s loved ones and also the family of the perpetrator. I also feel for the attacker. He was schizophrenic so imagine his own fear and terror trying to make his way through life and wondering when another episode will appear that he has absolutely no control over. As he was homeless he probably didn’t have a GP or mental health team to organise medication for him. No wonder he turned to drugs as many homeless people do to block out the scary, horrendous reality of their lives. Such a sad situation all round.

Please don't imagine that all schizophrenics are violent, my daughter has this problem and always takes medication. She's never been violent towards anybody although her life is chaotic and she is classified as vulnerable.

It was also said that he wished he had a girlfriend but couldn’t get one, hence the stabbing of women. The only male victim was the security guard who tried to stop him. I sometimes wonder whether there should be more emphasis in school of real life situations and helpfulness, such as forming friendships and relationships, getting along with work colleagues. Rather more helpful to some than geography for example. You hear of so many people these days unable to form social relationships. With so many people focused on their phones all the time and not actually interacting when they’re out and about it’s not surprising.

My friend's son suddenly became convinced that people were trying to kill his parents and that he had to protect them by killing passers by. He was absolutely convinced this was true and couldn't be talked out of it. Luckily, he didn't manage to hurt anyone. In hospital it was found to be a psychotic episode triggered by some doctored cannabis.

Joseann sounds like a psychotic attack and very frightening for the sufferer too.

*struck

I don't know much about mental disorders, but I was stuck by the comment that one minute he was walking round the retail centre quite normally, then went off for 30 minutes (?) and came back deranged with the knife. So, if someone's state of mind flips that quickly, no none stands a chance.

This is absolutely tragic and sadly, it can happen anywhere. Mental health issues are virtually impossible to police effectively. There are probably hundreds of thousands of people undiagnosed, and as many diagnosed but who don't persevere with treatment. Do we revert back to institutionalising sufferers? This is surely not the answer, neither would it help with those who are undiagnosed.

I've not stopped thinking about the horror, the fear and finally the loss of all those involved since I saw it on the news yesterday. Absolutely heart-breaking.