‘Broken’ couple whose 11-year-old son drowned in France are refused NHS counselling because they ‘have not been grieving long enough’
- Lance and Hannah Taylor’s 11-year-old boy Jake drowned in France on August 22
- The parents, from Hull, East Yorkshire, were referred for counselling by their GP
- But after three weeks of waiting for assessment they were told it was ‘too soon’
- City Health Care Partnership now told family to contact the customer care team
A heartbroken couple whose son drowned while they were on holiday have said they were refused NHS counselling – because they had ‘not been grieving long enough’.
Lance and Hannah Taylor suffered every parents’ worst pain when their 11-year-old son Jake vanished at a man-made beach and swimming lagoon campsite in France.
The schoolboy later died at a hospital in Paris, after the tragedy at the La Croix Du Vieux Pont campsite in northern France on Thursday, August 22.
Mr and Mrs Taylor have now been referred for counselling and support by their GP, but were told they were not eligible.
Jake, who has been described as the ‘loveliest, kindest and sweetest of boys there could ever be’ was at the La Croix Du Vieux Pont campsite in northern France when the tragedy happened on Thursday, August 22
Lance and Hannah Taylor (pictured with their children, Jake is in a white top), from Hull, East Yorkshire, have now been referred for counselling and support by their GP, but were told they were not eligible
After waiting three weeks for an initial face to face assessment, and filling in lengthy forms, both parents were separately told by Let’s Talk that they were not eligible for any help and support now – because it was ‘too soon’ and they had ‘not been grieving long enough’.
The couple were told they would have to be grieving for at least six months before they could access any help.
Mr Taylor, a window cleaner from Hull, East Yorkshire, said: ‘I did not know how to feel when she said I couldn’t get any help until I had been grieving for six months. She said it was too soon.
‘I genuinely didn’t know what to think or feel, I just felt so abandoned.
‘They said it’s part of the grieving process that we are going through and that before we can have any counselling we need to grieve.
‘I came out after not been in very long and said to Hannah there wasn’t any point in her going in because they would just tell her they can’t help, which they did.
‘We just feel so left, we just feel in limbo, with no support from anyone.’
The couple were told they would have to be grieving for at least six months before they could access any help (pictured, their son Jake who tragically drowned while on holiday in France)
The grieving parents were referred to the Let’s Talk service which is run by health care provider, City Health Care Partnership CIC (CHCP).
Let’s Talk is able to refer people for direct treatment with suitable practitioners, and providers include Cruse Bereavement Care, Good Day Therapy, HEY Mind, House of Light, Humber, Relate and others.
Mrs Taylor, who works as a retail assistant for Next, has been able to get six funded sessions through her employer and has now began seeing a counsellor.
She said: ‘I get help only through my work, but still there isn’t anything out there for us. You are just kind of left to sort it out yourselves which isn’t good.
‘It was meant to be an hour appointment but Lance was only in ten minutes.
‘Then I went in, I was only in for ten minutes and the lady told me a lot about her daughter and her own situation.
‘She said we cannot get help for six months as we have to process what’s happened.
‘She said she would make the calls anyway and refer us to Cruse Bereavement but said you are looking at six months to be seen and said it is just other people who have lost their children, not specialists.’
Mourners at the superhero-themed funeral of Jake Taylor, 11, from Hull, East Yorkshire. The child passed away in August following a tragic accident in France
She added: ‘The following day Lance got a phone call to say that she wouldn’t be referring us as there was no point, we would have to self-refer ourselves and if we would have known that, we would have done it instantly and not been left for so long.
‘At the end of the day all the people out there that are struggling with the demand of life and there isn’t any help.’
Jake’s death is still being investigated by the French police.
A spokesperson for CHCP, which runs the Let’s Talk service, said: ‘The Let’s Talk service helps people who need mild to moderate mental health support.
‘When accessing the service an expert assessment is carried out with each individual to help identify the best fit treatment or support.
‘City Health Care Partnership CIC (CHCP) cannot disclose any details about the care of individual patients as this would be a breach of confidentiality.
‘But we would urge anyone who has used our services and is unhappy about any aspect of their care to get in touch with our customer care team who will endeavour to resolve any problem or concern as quickly as possible.’
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