Ms Jackie McKenna:

It is the family members who are left to deal with the situation at the end of the day. If somebody presents with a psychotic episode in accident and emergency and is passed to the psychiatric services, that service will say it is not psychiatric but medical.

As a result, the family is shunted from one to the other. If a loved one is going through a psychotic episode and is a danger to themselves or to other family members, may be suicidal or may have a family member who is suicidal, it is horrendous for them to be left in isolation with no services or support.