He Died Waiting: Learning the Lessons - A Bereaved Mother’s View of Mental Health Services

Caroline's eldest son, Tim, had a bipolar disorder. The mental health services he encountered were chaotic, inaccessible, and unsafe. Tim never seemed to be the right kind of ill to get the help he needed. Like many other people with mental illness, he joined an endless waiting list. He died waiting for an appointment.

Caroline was thrust into the incomprehensible and brutal procedures that follow an 'unexpected death'. The collision of her professional and personal life led to consequences beyond anything she could have imagined. She encountered a cruel, system-wide, culture of denial and defensiveness.

Nevertheless, this is a positive narrative about the power of integrity, relationships, compassion, and love. Tim's story illustrates the impact of the current crisis in mental health services and the empty rhetoric of commitments to 'learn lessons' when things go wrong. Caroline's book is a plea, for policymakers, organisations, professionals, and the public, to exercise decency, challenge unsafe or unkind practice, support people in distress, and push for improved services.

Foreword by Sara Ryan (author of Justice for Laughing Boy: Connor Sparrowhawk – A Death by Indifference): He Died Waiting is a "searing account of love, family, mental health and the grotesque response from those responsible … it literally took my breath away."

"I urge all in social work, nursing and all human services professions to read the deeply moving He Died Waiting  by the courageous Caroline Aldridge" (social work team manager).

"When you have a story as vivid to support your learning you remember exactly why it is that you are doing what you do" (mental health practitioner).

"I couldn't put it down. So much resonated with me as mother" (bereaved parent).

"This book is beautifully written. I veered from admiration to despair, from tears to hope. This book will not only move you but will leave you asking what you can do to effect change" (mental health service-user).