"Looking for help and support but only given signposting"

Hello PixieSA23,

I'm the Clinical Lead at Rotherham Talking Therapies, my name is Faye. I'm really sorry to read of your experience, and to see that the outcome of your assessment was signposting to other services when you had understandably hoped and expected to be able to receive support from us directly. When you've spoken about your difficulties during an assessment and taken that first step towards receiving support it can be really disappointing to hear that you may have to start the process again somewhere else. There are occasions when the type of support we can offer isn't a good fit for somebody's needs, however when this is the case the clinician should be able to explain why sessions aren't being offered and why we would recommend an alternative service instead.

As Care Opinion stories are submitted anonymously, I would be really grateful if you could give the service a call on 03000 215108 and leave your name and date of birth with one of our admin team. If you ask them to please pass a message along to Faye regarding a Care Opinion story I'll know it's from you. I can take a look into your notes so I can understand the rationale for why we signposted elsewhere, and check whether we may have missed anything in terms of being able to offer you a course of therapy within Talking Therapies.

I hope to hear from you if you're open to speaking with me. If you feel that urgent support is required at any time, you can contact the Rotherham Crisis Team on 0800 804 8999, Samaritans on 116123, call the emergency services or attend A&E. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this feedback, and I do hope that together we can make sure you're offered the right support.

Kindest regards,

Faye

Clinical Lead