A BOURNEMOUTH teenager who was sent to Manchester to get the right mental health treatment has spoken of the 'loneliness and distress' she felt when she was sent away from home.

The young woman, now 19, was first treated for mental illness when she was just 13. As no beds were available for her in Dorset, she spent around three months in a London hospital.

Her stints away from friends and family delayed her recovery, she said.

"Between the ages of 13 and 18 I stayed in Kent, Maidenhead, London and Manchester, as well as Bournemouth and Poole," she said.

"A few times I was sent away from Dorset because there were no beds, although when I was in Manchester it was because I needed a different type of treatment.

"It was really, really difficult. On two birthdays I didn't have any visitors because I was staying so far away.

"It was very hard for me and it definitely delayed me getting better."

As reported in the Daily Echo, Dorset HealthCare chief executive Ron Shields said it is "vital" to offer a good level of support to people in mental health crisis.

The trust’s existing Pebble Lodge inpatient unit in Alum Chine does not have enough beds for young people in Dorset who need them.

A planning application to expand the facilities at Pebble Lodge has been deferred so councillors can visit the site.

The young woman, who asked not to be named, has been diagnosed with a range of mental health difficulties over the past few years, including bipolar disorder, emotionally unstable personality disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety.

She is living with her family in Bournemouth and says her mental health has significantly improved recently.

"When I was 18 I was transferred to St Ann's Hospital in Poole and that helped me feel more settled," she said.

"I missed out on a lot of school, but being in Poole meant I could go to college."

She has also spent time at Pebble Lodge.

"Being in hospital in Bournemouth I could still continue with my education to some extent, while when I was far away it was impossible," she said.

"When I was away, it made it hard for the doctors and staff team in the hospitals I was in to liaise with the team at home who knew me.

"I was constantly waiting for a bed to become available near home, which made me more distressed. I knew I would be leaving but it felt like a never-ending wait.

"Because it was difficult for the doctors to liaise with each other, my diagnoses and medications were changed around a lot which had a massive impact on my mental health."