Victims’ commissioner to step in after Southport parents say support ‘woeful’

The parents of a girl critically injured in the Southport attack were allowed no more than 12 counselling sessions after the atrocity, while others described a “woeful” lack of support.The victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, Claire Waxman, said she would raise the “deeply concerning” experiences of Southport families with ministers, after their accounts were shared with The Guardian.Nicola Ryan-Donnelly, of Fletchers solicitors, which represents 22 of the 23 surviving children, said a number of the parents had not received proper psychological help nearly two years after the attack.Families were “passed from pillar to post” and had to “really fight” for support, she said, adding: “There are countless problems in the system highlighted by this attack, but support for survivors in the aftermath of something like this has to change. We have to do better than this.”Three girls – Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine – were murdered, and eight other children and two adults were stabbed repeatedly in the attack on a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on 29 July 2024.The parents of five girls who were seriously injured in the stabbings have spoken for the first time about their ordeal in interviews with The Guardian. They described the incredible acts of heroism by their daughters that day, as they shielded and helped each other escape the killer, Axel Rudakubana.Some of the families discussed their frustration at the lack of psychological support in the aftermath. Many of the parents had rushed to the scene and described searching frantically for their children, not knowing if they were alive. They then spent days in hospital as their daughters underwent life-saving operations.The mother of a seven-year-old girl who was critically injured said her husband – who rushed to the scene to find their daughter – was refused more than 12 counselling sessions by Victim Support, despite still suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder.She said that while the charity’s support for their daughter, who The Guardian is calling Daisy, was “incredible” and an “absolute lifeline”, the counselling for them as parents was “not fit for purpose”.“For the adult services, Victim Support was just really unhelpful and it felt incredibly pressured and stressful,’” she said, describing how the sessions felt like “chit chat, with no direction”.“The whole offering for the parents has been really disappointing for us. I know Victim Support is a charity, but there was absolutely no mechanism in place to support the parents once [its] service ended.”Parents were offered a maximum of 12 sessions each with a Victim Support counsellor which meant, they said, having to “ration” when they accessed help in order to save some therapy for the trial and public inquiry. “Our experience has been more frustrating than we would have liked,” said Daisy’s mother. “It’s hard to have to justify why you’re traumatised.”Victim Support said its offer of eight to 12 therapy sessions for parents aimed to help stabilise people at a crisis point rather than being a long-term solution and that, if they need further help, they would be referred to the NHS.The charity said its approach followed guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). However, these state that adults suffering PTSD should “typically” be offered eight to 12 sessions “but more if clinically indicated”.A Victim Support spokesperson said the Southport attack was devastating for all involved and its thoughts were with all those affected, adding that the wellbeing of victims and witnesses was its “absolute priority”.They added: “We take any concerns raised extremely seriously. We continually assess the support we provide and seek ongoing feedback from those who use our services as part of our commitment to shape and improve them. We are grateful for the feedback we receive, and we are dedicated to providing vital, high-quality services to all victims, whenever they need us.”Waxman, the victims’ commissioner, said that in addition to speaking to ministers, she would raise parents’ concerns with the chief executive of Victim Support.She said: “These are deeply concerning accounts, echoing what I have heard from victims and families. Those affected by the Southport attack, including very young children, were victims of an act of extreme violence that caused life‑changing injuries and profound trauma that will shape the rest of their lives.“These experiences, as described by those affected and their families, raise serious questions about whether people received the kind of support they should reasonably expect after such extreme trauma.”Sefton council, which oversees Southport, was given £665,000 by central government for psychological support for those affected. However the money, which was not allocated to Victim Support but to other sources of help, ran out after little more than a year.It is understood that the council held discussions this week about requesting more money from ministers given the continuing psychological effects.