Emergency children’s mental-health services are lacking at St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital, a St. Thomas man argues.
And he’s refusing to pay a $45 ambulance bill in protest after his son was taken to the hospital last October. He feels his son didn’t receive the care required.
“I found dealing with what happened at the St. Thomas hospital very frustrating,” said father Shawn Southern.
He explained his 11-year-old son suffered an incident of mental distress and had to be taken to hospital.
Southern said he requested that his son be taken to Children’s Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre, in London, but was told by paramedics they could transport him only to STEGH.
“We took him to St. Thomas hospital, hoping they’d take a look at him and them send him to Vic (Victoria Hospital in London),” Southern said.
While at the St. Thomas hospital, they waited for hours to see a psychologist who, after speaking with Southern’s son, gave him the number for a crisis counsellor and sent him home.
“By the time a mental-health professional got down to talk to him, he was perfectly calm,” Southern said. “They (psychologists) are not child psychologists and weren’t there to deal with children’s mental-health issues. They deal with adult issues. He wasn’t really able to do much.”
A few weeks later, Southern’s son experienced another mental-health distress incident, but instead of going to STEGH, they went to London.
As a result of that visit, Southern said, his son was admitted and is now receiving treatment.
St. Thomas Times-Journal
Up to the minute news and information for London Ontario Canada and surrounding regions.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Bizarre Trial Continues
On Friday, closing arguments are expected Friday morning in a strange assault Superior Court trial where the characters are often more interesting than the crime.
Benjamin Kampers, 34, Sean Warren, 37 and Taylor Watson, 29 are each charged with aggravated assault of Joseph Desando, 46, and assault causing bodily harm of Battista Desando, 48, on May 24, 2009.
The Crown alleges the three men beat up the brothers inside an eighth floor apartment at 345 Wharncliffe Rd.
The commotion was heard by a philosophy student was returning home to the apartment building next door. He called the police.
Police found the Desando brothers in the apartment and they were described as “little help” in the investigation and both testified they had not idea who attacked them.
But Wednesday, Kampers, who suffered a neck in jury in a car crash 18 years ago, testified in his defence and gave a detailed and differing account of what happened that night.
He said through questions from his defence lawyer Richard Braiden that he, Warren and Watson had been at an all day party and walked to the building. Watson, he said had $30 to buy half-a-gram of cocaine and Warren knew where they could purchase it.
The three men were caught on video surveillance on the eighth floor of the building walking to the Desando apartment. Moments later Kampers could be seen walking back toward the elevators, then to the apartment again. All three could be seen leaving the unit with Watson without a shirt.
Kampers said the trio went into the apartment and while Warren was in another room, Jospeh Desando hit Watson in the face and tackled him, accusing him of disrespecting the residence when he yanked open the refrigerator door looking for beer.
Warren joined in the fight and rolled the massive Joseph Desando off Watson. Joseph Desando picked up a wooden chair and threw it at Warren, but missed and hit Watson.
Kampers said he left, not wanting to be injured, and went back moments later to find the apartment covered in blood. His two friends got out of the apartment at his urging.
In cross-examination by assistant Crown attorney Steve Monaghan Thursday, Kampers maintained what was going on was “a fight.”
“They were just having a scuffle like men do,” he said.
He said he might have called for help if someone had been “stabbed” but “I’m not going to wake someone up at 2 a.m. for a fist fight.”
He said Wwarren and Watson were “defending themselves” and that Watson “got a pretty good sh—kicking.”
On the way back to Warren’s Blackfriars St. apartment, Kampers said they talked a bit about what happened.
He said if the police asked they were going to tell them “it was a fight.” The trial continues Friday.
Benjamin Kampers, 34, Sean Warren, 37 and Taylor Watson, 29 are each charged with aggravated assault of Joseph Desando, 46, and assault causing bodily harm of Battista Desando, 48, on May 24, 2009.
The Crown alleges the three men beat up the brothers inside an eighth floor apartment at 345 Wharncliffe Rd.
The commotion was heard by a philosophy student was returning home to the apartment building next door. He called the police.
Police found the Desando brothers in the apartment and they were described as “little help” in the investigation and both testified they had not idea who attacked them.
But Wednesday, Kampers, who suffered a neck in jury in a car crash 18 years ago, testified in his defence and gave a detailed and differing account of what happened that night.
He said through questions from his defence lawyer Richard Braiden that he, Warren and Watson had been at an all day party and walked to the building. Watson, he said had $30 to buy half-a-gram of cocaine and Warren knew where they could purchase it.
The three men were caught on video surveillance on the eighth floor of the building walking to the Desando apartment. Moments later Kampers could be seen walking back toward the elevators, then to the apartment again. All three could be seen leaving the unit with Watson without a shirt.
Kampers said the trio went into the apartment and while Warren was in another room, Jospeh Desando hit Watson in the face and tackled him, accusing him of disrespecting the residence when he yanked open the refrigerator door looking for beer.
Warren joined in the fight and rolled the massive Joseph Desando off Watson. Joseph Desando picked up a wooden chair and threw it at Warren, but missed and hit Watson.
Kampers said he left, not wanting to be injured, and went back moments later to find the apartment covered in blood. His two friends got out of the apartment at his urging.
In cross-examination by assistant Crown attorney Steve Monaghan Thursday, Kampers maintained what was going on was “a fight.”
“They were just having a scuffle like men do,” he said.
He said he might have called for help if someone had been “stabbed” but “I’m not going to wake someone up at 2 a.m. for a fist fight.”
He said Wwarren and Watson were “defending themselves” and that Watson “got a pretty good sh—kicking.”
On the way back to Warren’s Blackfriars St. apartment, Kampers said they talked a bit about what happened.
He said if the police asked they were going to tell them “it was a fight.” The trial continues Friday.
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