"Ineffective Mental Health Care"

Firstly, I want to preface this by telling you I have been in the NHS mental health system my entire life. I got diagnosed with depression and anxiety when I was 8 years old, and have had inadequate help the whole time. This story is only about my time in Glasgow.

I have lived in Glasgow since 2020, and have seen several consultant psychiatrists since then. My most recent experiences were at the Arran Mental Health Resource Centre in Glasgow City.

I was initially referred there in August 2022, from a different health board, and I felt my first appointment was successful and productive. The psychiatrist assessed my medications and I felt listened to. I continued to see them once every 4 months until February 2023, when my mental state had significantly worsened to the point where I requested an emergency appointment. My consultant did not have any availability so I booked an appointment with their trainee. The appointment was 2 weeks after I requested it.

When I attended, I explained I had been having heightened feelings of helplessness, no motivation to eat or care for myself, and wanted to not wake up in the mornings. I explained I had not been attending university for 7 weeks and needed help. The trainee told me that I needed to try harder to get out of bed each morning, and that they can only do so much and I had to meet them halfway. This devastated me, and if I did not have the support system I have in place I would have killed myself. Thankfully, my support system was there and helped me through this. 

My next appointment with my consultant was in June 2023, where I expressed concerns about the advice given to me by the trainee. It was met with my consultant questioning if that was actually what they said, or if that was how I had perceived it (which I feel was incredibly disrespectful). Luckily my partner was there to advocate for me. Nothing changed at this appointment and I didn’t hear from them after this. 

In November 2023 I felt my SAD symptoms getting worse so I called to enquire when my next appointment would be, only to be told I had been referred elsewhere. I called that centre, who said they had no record of me. After a lot of back and forth and emotional distress, I managed to get an emergency appointment at the Arran Centre (4 weeks after a request by my university).

I saw a locum psychiatrist who had obviously not read my file, as they started asking me questions about my general history instead of current issues. They then started asking me questions that I recognised as the diagnostic criteria for BPD. When I noticed this I advised them I have been diagnosed and undiagnosed with BPD 4 times already, as nobody can make up their mind. I told them that I had been researching autism and ADHD for a few years and would like an assessment. They scoffed at me and told me the reason I think I have autism and/or ADHD is because I have BPD and I need to stop looking for an explanation that previous treatments haven’t worked. They said that this is just the way that I am, and they can’t refer everyone for an autism assessment as that is a waste of time.

This upset me, as my consultant had asked me to compile a list of my symptoms and they would look at it and see if I could be referred. The locum said that my consultant wouldn’t have asked for that, and I won’t be getting one. When I begun to cry, they sighed and explained their next patient was here and there was nothing they could do. I left my information with them and they said they would read it and get back to me.

This was at the beginning of December, and I have yet to hear anything. I have consistently been let down by every service that was supposed to safeguard me, for my entire life. I am so defeated, depressed, and lost.