"I do find the visiting room a very unwelcoming place"

As a carer of someone who has been on a couple of your wards I wanted to share some feedback.

When my loved one is unwell they have phases of refusing to speak to me.  I am their main carer and they live at home with me when they are not an inpatient.

When I phone the ward to ask how they are doing some of the staff say they can't talk to me and hang up the phone, others say they've not given consent to share information with me and again hang up. 

I am not asking for specifics about their medication (despite being expected to manage this when they are back home) I am simply asking if they have had a good day or bad day and whether they have done anything with their time that day.

When my loved one does ask me to visit I do find the visiting room a very unwelcoming and soulless place.  A nice painting on the wall would help to give us something to talk about and start conversations when we are struggling.

I am also rather concerned that they are allowed to order takeaways every day, this is something they wouldn't do at home and cannot be good for their mind or body. Why aren't staff allowed to stop this happening and help them make healthy choices?