James Kemp wants to see better mental health supports after his son was misdiagnosed several times.

By Vincent Papequash

Child Mental Health

Father wants more mental health supports after son misdiagnosed

Sep 30, 2020 | 2:56 PM

Warning: This article contains discussion around sensitive topics, including attempted suicide.

PRINCE GEORGE – A father is speaking out after the recent announcement of a new multi-million dollar cardiac unit at the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia. The current adolescent psychiatric assessment unit (APAU) at UHNBC is a six bed unit.

James Kemp says that his son has endured a lifetime of being misdiagnosed. His son was first diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, and Kemp says this effected his son in school.

His son is now 16 years old, and Kemp says that he is concerned for his safety after his son attempted to commit suicide. Kemp says a crisis response team was called and his son was taken to the APAU at the hospital, where he was yet again diagnosed, this time with bipolar disorder.

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Kemp says that his son had been taking ADHD medication since childhood.

After a second incident resulting in his son returning to the APAU, his son was then diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.

Maureen Davis, Executive Director at the Canadian Mental Health Association in Prince George says that living with a mental health misdiagnosis is the “same thing as if you were living with a physical misdiagnosis.”

Davis says, “So if you’ve been diagnosed with a major depressive disorder, but you actually have bipolar or schizoaffective disorder, you’re probably not on the right medication, you’re probably not receiving the right kind of treatment.”

“So if you’ve been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, but you actually have bipolar or schizoaffective disorder, you’re probably not on the right medication, you’re probably not receiving the right kind of treatment.” – Maureen Davis, Executive Director of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Prince George Branch.

Kemp says that he did not find out about the Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre through a referral, but instead after he looked it up.

Kemp says, “we don’t have any facilities up north here to take care of our kids. Our beds are full, our homes are full, Reconnect is full, our streets are full. And we have no recourse, we have no help.”

After the third diagnosis, and multiple attempts to find help for his son, Kemp says the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) is removing his son from his custody. We reached out to the MCFD, but they could not provide us with a statement due to the ongoing election.

Kemp says, “our system’s broken. That’s not right, and I’m not the only one that’s endured this.”

Correction: it was earlier reported that James Kemp’s son was referred to the Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre. Kemp says that his son was not referred, and he found out about the treatment centre on his own.