Women Who Lived in Car Outside Hospital went Ignored by NHS Officials

The National Health Service in the United Kingdom is under fire after a report by the Sunday Mail about a woman who slept in her car outside a hospital for five months after being denied treatment for severe panic and anxiety attacks.   

Lynsey Church, 29, was told she would have to wait three months to see a psychologist after coming to the hospital seeking treatment for crippling panic and anxiety disorders.  Because of her disorder, Church became so fearful for her life that she took up residence in the hospital parking lot in order to be near the medical personnel inside the hospital.  Officials and police at the hospital were apparently aware of her situation and did not act until her plight was reported in the press.

Panic and anxiety disorders can cause severe agoraphobia which leads most to stay confined to their homes.  But Church developed such a strong attachment to the hospital that she ate, drank, and slept in her car throughout the coldest winter Britain had seen in 32 years.  Paranoia can be one of the most severe symptoms of those with panic or anxiety disorders - Church believed she was in imminent danger of death if she left the parking lot, and developed horrifying physical sensations brought on by the panic and anxiety of her ordeal.

After being reported in the Sunday Mail, the NHS spokesman in Lanarkshire, where the hospital is located, appealed to the health secretary for intervention on Church's behalf.  Church was admitted to the hospital shortly thereafter and began therapy immediately, which was greatly helped in her recovery.  Now, Church says, she is planning on suing the chiefs of the NHS for medical negligence for a substantial compensation.  The NHS has responded by internally investigating the incident, and urging anyone suffering from panic and anxiety disorders to consult with their general practitioner immediately.