A Father’s Account Of An Alleged Breakdown in Care At Farnham Road Hospital

Published on: 13 Apr, 2025
Updated on: 14 Apr, 2025

Farnham Road Hospital

Dragon reporter Stella Kuchanny investigates serious allegations about the standard of mental healthcare at a Guildford centre

The father of a young man with mental health problems has described what he claims to be “a horror story” that unfolded while his son was a patient at Farnham Road Hospital, Guildford.

He has made a series of shocking allegations about his son’s treatment at the hospital, including:

• His son being given “dangerously high” doses of lithium – a type of medicine known as a mood stabiliser.
• Another drug being introduced alongside the lithium, with further extreme side effects.
• Even more alarmingly, a member of hospital staff allegedly telling his son that he should kill himself and explaining how he might go about doing it.

The young man – who is 21-years-old – has bipolar disorder, a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings.

His father, a former financier of healthcare infrastructure who once helped fund facilities like the Aldershot Centre for Health, said he was shocked to find himself on the other side of the fence – as a parent watching his son suffer under the care of a system he once supported. His name has been withheld to protect his son’s identity.

Asked for a response, the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust insisted they take all concerns about the quality of the care they provide very seriously.

The young man’s father began by telling me about his son’s experiences with lithium.

Because he was unwell, his son refused blood tests, so the hospital could not confirm whether his dosage remained safe. Despite this, they continued administering what the father described as “fairly high doses.” Eventually, his son agreed to a test, which revealed “dangerously high” lithium levels.

“On lithium, you have to ensure the dose is not dangerous,” he said. “It’s like driving a car at night with dipped headlights—you can’t see far ahead, so you proceed more cautiously. You don’t keep going full speed just because you think the road is clear.”

Once the elevated lithium level was confirmed, his son was transferred to the Royal Surrey Hospital’s Acute Medical Unit—just one step short of intensive care. There, he was treated and stabilized.

“At least I could visit him at the Royal Surrey,” he said. “The staff were lovely. They even sent Farnham Road Hospital a discharge letter with clear recommendations for a safe maximum dose. But that advice wasn’t well received by the consultant.”

Referring to the lithium doses, he claimed: “There was an unnecessary risk to my son’s heart and overall health. You cannot justify a high dose without confirmation from blood tests. You have to reduce it – because without those results, you are flying blind.”

He remembers telling the consultant exactly that: “You are flying blind.”

He said that in response, he received excuses including claims that the issue was caused by his son not drinking enough water.

This comment left him bewildered. “This is a hospital with staff around the clock! And no one can remind him to drink water?”

It is claimed that another drug was introduced alongside the lithium, with further extreme side effects: slow, shuffling movement, shaking, excessive drooling, and severely impaired speech.

“I often had to help lift him out of chairs,” he recalled. “When I couldn’t understand him, I asked him to type on my phone.”

The same consultant reportedly asked if his speech problems were “normal.”

“No,” he replied. “Normally, he talks very quickly.”

It was particularly difficult for the young man’s mother to witness. She is a GP, and her father has Parkinson’s Disease, making the visible similarities in symptoms particularly distressing.

The most disturbing moment came when the father received a call from his son’s solicitor. A member of hospital staff had allegedly told his son not only that he should kill himself, but also explained how he might go about doing it.

“When I asked my son, he confirmed it,” he claimed. “He was unwell and vulnerable, and someone in a position of care gave him instructions on how to end his life. That kind of cruelty is hard to process.”

Separately, I was able to speak briefly with the young man himself. Though still clearly distressed, he described to me the moment in which, he claims, a mental health nurse suggested he should end his life, specifically mentioning electrocution.

Now, after months of campaigning for answers, the young man’s father has finally been offered a meeting with the Chief Executive of Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The father says it took three months and repeated emails before this offer came.

While he has asked that his son’s name not be published to protect his future, he believes the public deserves to know his son’s story. “Would a reader want their son or daughter to experience this—and feel powerless for months on end?” he asked.

He said he was considering legal action against the trust and that the police had been informed about the case. He said sharing his experience with the media was essential to achieving accountability.

He also drew my attention to the hospital’s online reviews, currently averaging just 2.5 stars on Google Maps. Many – although not all – are critical of the care they received.

One woman wrote: “Left me topless and without a bra when there were males present.”

Another reviewer said: “Absolutely horrific. I thought the Victorian ways of treating the mentally ill were well and truly over.”

Another reviewer described one of the wards as “just a holding cell that has no therapy on offer at all.”

“CQC (the independent regulator) would have a field day,” a reviewer said. “It’s not a safe unit and should be seriously looked into.”

I contacted the Surrey and Borders Partnership Trust, described the allegations and requested a comment.

Graham Wareham, Chief Executive of Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We take all concerns raised about the quality of the care we provide very seriously. We are in active conversation with the family and are investigating the complaint that has been raised as a matter of high priority.”

The police said they were unable to comment on the allegations without a case number.

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