A MUM from Worcester who has attempted suicide several times has written an open letter to the city’s A&E department asking staff to show more compassion for people like her.

Mother-of-three Sasha Bailey-Dean who lives in Worcester city centre first tried to commit suicide when she was only eight years old and wants doctors and nurses in Worcester's A&E to show more compassion and understanding for people who end up there because they have self-harmed.

During her life she has made five attempts on her life, sometimes using an overdose of prescription drugs, and at other times by self-inflicted injuries using blades.

She suffers from borderline personality disorder but says she is rarely treated with compassion at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester because her injuries may be self-inflicted.

However, she wanted to stress that she had received excellent care from the community mental health team and at Holt ward at the Elgar Unit in Worcester, managed by the Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust.

The 36-year-old, who runs a support site on Facebook called ‘Glitter & Hope’ for people with borderline personality disorder, said she wanted to provide a voice for other people who had self-harmed in the past.

Miss Bailey-Dean, who is receiving Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for her condition, said her letter was based on around nine or 10 visits to Worcester’s A&E when she had been treated by staff in an “unfortunate manner” because she has either self-harmed or attempted suicide.

She told the Worcester News: “I feel I need to stand up for the people who don’t feel able to stand up, for all the people who have mental health problems. It is to give them a voice.”

In the open letter she wrote: “When a person attends your department having self-harmed or attempted suicide in any way, firstly please acknowledge them, smile as you look them in the eye and don't already imply that you are annoyed with them and their actions before we have had a chance to speak.

“When I attend your department I can guarantee it's as a last resort. I'll have spent up to an hour tending to my cuts, trying to dress them and have been mentally running through the pros and cons of presenting at A&E to seek help. (There are always more cons) I have never took that decision to attend lightly.

“We have to openly discuss what our injury is within the public reception area. We then sit in that very public area , 99 per cent of the time with very obvious self-harm injuries. We get stared at. We see the whispers and the nudges. We feel ashamed all over again.”

She also said in the letter that it was not a cry for attention and that it was caused by 'self-loathing and despair'. She said people who self-harmed already felt 'disgust and shame' which did not need to be compounded by staff.

She wrote: "My cutting is a self PUNISHMENT it is never done for attention. Most self-harmers I know hate attention. I very rarely attend A& E departments with my SH in all those years (26 in case you wondered) . I have attended under 10 times for SH. I really hate when I'm told I am just 'wasting your time'. I really only attend as a last resort."

She added: “We KNOW you see death daily. We understand this is mainly a ending no one wants. We completely understand that you see grief daily. We are NOT monsters. We have a high percentage of empathy -we just can't direct it on to ourselves.

“Please treat us as human beings. Please look us in the eye and talk to us. We don't want to be taking up NHS time but are entitled to be there and seeking medical attention too.

“People are complicated. Respect that . Don't judge. Please.”

A spokesperson for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: "Thank you to Sasha for writing this letter.

"We take mental health issues very seriously in our A&E department, although we are unable to comment on individual cases.

"We would encourage Sasha to get in touch with us directly, so we can learn from her experience."

Open letter (in full): I have been asked to write a open letter to Worcestershire A&E departments about my experiences of their care when it comes to MH issues .

If you would be interested in following it please let me know. It is a huge step for me to even write the letter down let alone publish it but it is vital that this issue is addressed Many thanks Sasha This is a open letter to all staff within A&E departments.

When a person attends your department having self harmed or attempted suicide in any way, firstly please acknowledge them, smile as you look them in the eye & don't already imply that you are annoyed with them and their actions before we have had a chance to speak.

When I attend your department I can guarantee it's as a last resort. I'll have spend up to an hour tending to my cuts, trying to dress them and have been mentally running through the pros and cons of presenting at A&E to seek help. (There are always more cons ) I have never took that decision to attend lightly.

We have to openly discuss what our injury is within the public reception area. We then sit in that very public area , 99% of the time with very obvious self harm injuries. We get stared at. We see the whispers and the nudges. We feel ashamed all over again.

Personally I started self harming at age seven. As I headed towards adulthood, self-harm was still a part of my life on a daily basis. This got much worse when I had to leave home age 14. I had always cut myself, but somehow the superficial cuts of my youth no longer satisfied the growing self-loathing and despair that I felt as an adult. My cutting is a self PUNISHMENT it is never done for attention. Most self harmers I know hate attention. I very rarely attend A& E departments with my SH in all those years (26 incase you wondered) . I have attended under 10 times for SH. I really hate when I'm told I am just 'wasting your time'. I really only attend as a last resort.

There were times when I attended A&E voluntarily, but there were other times when I am taken there by ambulance after near successful attempts on my life/ attending A&E to be stitched back together. There were times when, unfortunately, the experience at A&E itself left me feeling worthless and wanting to self harm all over again. There could be one fantastic triage nurse or doctor but their care would be undermined by another nurse, doctor or receptionist whose care or attitude would be cold or their frustration towards me for causing damage to my own body would show. Clearly. VERY CLEARLY.

We already feel Disgust & Shame. We don't need that compounded.

Then it's time to see the Drs. I have seen some very caring, understanding and compassionate Drs that show the skills that they originally had within their souls when training for their professions. The other 98%of you.... Well....

We can't take being told we are 'crying out for attention' or 'we didn't really want to die'. It's cruel and not true. All suicide survivors know that it's hard to succeed. In time, the hope is we will see this as a blessing, sadly , mostly we wake up inA&E feeling devastated that our emotional pain is even worse than before as we realise we have failed at our attempt and that the staff assigned to us are clear in their disgust of how we ended up there in the first place.

We KNOW you see death daily. We understand this is mainly a ending no one wants. We completely understand that you see grief daily. We are NOT monsters. We have a high percentage of empathy -we just can't direct it on to ourselves.

Finally if you can bring yourself to talk to us, please avoid telling a suicidal parent, that they need 'too think of their children and how they would feel if you died'. Constricted thinking is one of the hallmarks of self harm & suicidal thinking, and the majority of suicidal parents have been doing nothing but thinking of their children in the lead up to this suicide attempt or SH. Please remember our critical thinking skills & ability to focus on a wise mind is severely limited. Whereas our impulse control is non-existent.

Please treat us as human beings. Please look us in the eye and talk to us. We don't want to be taking up NHS time but are entitled to be there and seeking medical attention too.

People are complicated. Respect that . Don't judge. Please.