The government has been accused of failing traumatised tourists who witnessed the Tunisian beach massacre by not giving them fast enough access to psychological help.
Maxine Midgely, from Barnsley, who hid in a shopkeeper’s cupboard with her partner and daughter while bullets flew around them during the attack in June, called her treatment since returning home a disgrace.
“I had a meltdown about two weeks ago. I was smashing things in the house,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “My partner was crying, my daughter was upset so I just started smashing things, exploding. If the government had done what it said it would do, I don’t believe this would have happened.”
Prof Neil Greenberg, president of the UK psychological trauma society, said the government should have introduced a similar scheme after the Tunisia attack to the one put in place after the 7/7 bombings. After the 2005 attacks in London, the government had a screen-and-treat programme to identify which of the victims would be most in need of specialist psychological help.
Thirty Britons were among the 38 people killed by a lone gunman at the Sousse beach resort on 26 June. Dozens more were injured and hundreds caught up in the chaos.
Midgely said she had eventually begun seeing a counsellor privately through her partner Richard Slater’s employer. “They are paying for private counselling. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have had anyone. It’s a disgrace, and David Cameron should be ashamed of himself.”
Her 14-year-old daughter Bronwyn said she had suffered nightmares and flashbacks about her experience, and said she expected better treatment from her home country. “I’m coping but sometimes when I think about it I cry, I get upset. I shouldn’t have gone through this just because of stupid people with stupid thoughts,” she said. “This is our country, we live in it and they need to think more about their own people.”
The Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood said he was sorry that the family had not received the support they were entitled to, and said the FCO could help if victims felt they were not getting enough support when they approached their GP.
“I’m very, very sorry to hear about this,” he told the BBC. “After the attacks in Sousse we mobilised a huge amount of government support. Those involved in the attack have a long journey to recovery in front of them, including those who escaped physical injury.
“There is a programme in place and we need to make sure that people are aware of it and people are accessing it. We will certainly look to see if there are any new measures to make sure people receive the specialist services they require.”
Ellwood said that in recent weeks the FCO had been approached by several others who had not been getting adequate support from their GPs, and said the government had intervened to help.
“I would say to [this family] please to get in touch and I will do my best to change this, and make sure everyone is aware of the programme,” he said. “Two-thirds of patients do recover from traumatic experiences, but we do need to make sure those systems are in place for those who need it.”
