Troubled teen spent five days in A&E

A teenage girl who threatened to kill her 7-year-old brother, her mother, and her classmates was forced to stay in a crowded emergency department for five days because no psychiatric service was available.

The situation arose at the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) in Cork City between May 10 and 15.

The girl, who has not been named, was brought to the hospital earlier this month after threatening to kill her brother and putting a butter knife to her mother’s throat.