A victim of historic sexual abuse who suffers nightmares and hears voices decades later says he has been failed by mental health services.

The man, who will be referred to as Mr X, says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of being raped by a co-worker when he was 18.

Mr X is now in his 50s and has learning difficulties. Due to a lack of treatment, he says his condition has worsened and he has slammed Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust for their “lack of support”.

Mr X, who lives in Barnet, said he initially received therapy provided by Barnet Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) for six weeks in March 2018.

The mental health trust then held a review and claimed it did not want him to continue with the therapy as he was a “complex case”, he claims.

In spite of this, he managed to secure another six weeks of therapy. But he says his therapy was ended after a review in July 2018 that was held without his knowledge and with no representation from his social worker.

When he tried to apply for therapy again in November 2018 he says he was told it did not provide therapy for emotional disorders or trauma.

From then on, he claims he has not been referred to any other services by the mental health trust.

Unable to pay for treatment, as he cannot work due to his condition, Mr X said he called the mental health trust’s crisis line, but was told to “read a book or watch TV”.

As a result of his nightmares causing him to wake up and hear voices he has resorted to calling ambulances up to 12 times a month.

He says that normally, after a long wait, he is discharged and is told the home treatment team run by the mental health trust will contact him the next day. But he says he is rarely contacted.

He says he feels guilty that he has wasted valuable NHS resources, but believes this could be prevented if he received the treatment he needs.

He added: “There is no empathy, compassion and no understanding. At the end of the day, it’s not just about me, I’m speaking for other service users.”

When prompted for a response to Mr X’s complaints, the mental health trust said it would not comment on his individual case.

However, it provided a generic response: “Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust is committed to providing high quality care for all our service users and we welcome feedback from patients and carers. We will invite this patient to contact our Patient Experience Team so that we can follow up their concerns.

“We provide Mental Health Crisis Support Services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is provided through a combination of a Crisis Phone Line, the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Teams and the Psychiatric Liaison Teams based in local A&Es. These services are designed to address immediate crisis.

“Mental health problems can often be complex and lasting solutions can take time to deliver and take effect. We also provide specialist psychological therapies for a range of mental disorders, including trauma based mental health problems.”

If you have a complaint about your care, contact 020 8702 4700 or email beh-tr.patient.experience@nhs.net