THE mother of a schizophrenic who was sectioned after attacking his sister says she feels "let down" by the authorities after they refused her requests to detain him earlier.

Cameron Hussain, 21, was eventually ordered by a judge to be detained at Lynfield Mount Hospital, Bradford, after he pleaded guilty to common assault on his sister, criminal damage to his mother's furniture and ornaments and possession of a bladed article at his grandparent's home on June 17 this year in Upper Rushton Road, Fagley, Bradford.

Bradford Crown Court heard that he punched his sister to the head and pushed her against a wall.

But Hussain's mother, Suffia Ahad, believes if the Bradford and Airedale Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, based at Thornton Road, Bradford, had sectioned him earlier, at her request, he might not have attacked his sister.

Mrs Ahad, of Woolcombers Way, Tyersal, said she "bombarded" the service representatives with calls but was rebuffed by them.

She said her son was sectioned from November 2013 until February this year and was asking for him to be detained for "weeks and months" before the attack.

She said: "Cameron pleaded guilty at our request. He does not remember attacking his sister. I bombarded them with calls. I felt let down.

"I did ask the team to hospitalise him and they did not do it. It was too little, too late when they did.

"They kept trying to put it off, passing the buck. I pleaded that it was hard to cope with him.

"If Cameron would have got the help he needed in the first place, things would not have escalated at that point.

"We had been asking for them to hospitalise Cameron for weeks and months before.

"He is tortured by his illness. He is a paranoid schizophrenic.

"Cameron said it was like the devil was whispering in his head. It took a long time for him to be diagnosed with schizophrenia."

Frank Hanily, deputy director of Bradford services at the Bradford District Care Trust, encouraged Mrs Ahad to discuss her concerns with the Trust.

"Our Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) service is a team of health, social care and psychological therapy experts who work alongside young people and families affected by first episode psychosis for up to three years.

“People accessing our mental health services, such as EIP, are provided with a care plan. This plan details what the person can do in a crisis situation and the appropriate level of support that would be available by their care co-ordinator.

“The service also offers family members a carer’s assessment. This provides an opportunity to discuss their needs, any concerns, and how to cope with any lifestyle changes.

“We encourage patients, service users and carers to tell us when they are not happy with services. We see this as a way of being able to continually improve our services."