A Halifax woman says she plans on filing a formal complaint after her friend was denied help during a mental health crisis.

Lianne Perry said she didn’t initially go to the emergency room with the young woman in her 20s.

“She was seen by a number of people, I think a couple of interns, a nurse, a mental health nurse, and eventually was sent home,” Perry said. “At that point she called me from the hospital and said, ‘I can’t believe they’re going to let me go, I don’t know what to do.'”

At that time, Perry rushed to the hospital to try and help her friend.

She said she wasn’t there for the initial private conversations between her friend and the health workers.

“But I was with her in the waiting area, and I can tell you she was in crisis, this was a life or death situation,” Perry explained. “She was essentially saying, ‘If I leave here, something bad is going to happen to me and I don’t know how to stop this from happening,’ and I was shocked she was turned away.”

Perry told NEWS 95.7 she has had her own experiences with the mental health system, and they’ve all been positive, which is why she couldn’t believe how her friend was being treated.

She has no doubt the system is overwhelmed and overburdened, but said that’s not an excuse.

Perry was present the last time her friend was turned away by a psychiatrist, and that’s the experience that prompted her to want to file a complaint.

“It may be that this particular psychiatrist was at the end of his rope, that he had a terribly long shift and he had seen a lot of people and this was just too much for him,” she said. “But if dealing with someone with compassion and sympathy isn’t your first approach, you’re in the wrong line of work.”

If fact, Perry said, the hospital employees who seemed to have the most compassion were the security staff who kept a close eye on the friend.

“They were amazing, I think in some cases they exercised a much better understanding of how to deal with someone with a mental health issue.”

They looked out for her, brought water & light conversation. It was incredibly kind. I will send a thank you to them. It made an impact. — Lianne Perry (@LiannePerry) April 20, 2016

Perry is frustrated and feels her friend wasn’t taken seriously despite going through all the proper steps, and said she worries about how much worse this could have turned out.

Inpatient psychiatrist at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, Dr. Curt Peters, told Global Halifax patients conveying suicidal thoughts to medical staff aren’t always admitted.

“People have come to the emergency department, expressed that type of concern and, as a result of the assessment, still sent home.” he said. “Partly, it may be that they’ve chosen not to engage in the treatment that’s offered for whatever reason.”

Perry said for now, her friend is stable and staying with friends.

Anyone experiencing a mental illness crisis is urged to contact the Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team at 902-429-8167 in Halifax, 1-888-429-8167 province-wide, or call 911.