"Northern trust perinatal mental health team/causeway crisis team"

I have been struggling with postnatal depression since my baby was born. The first 2/3 weeks were horrible, I was suicidal. I had been to so many appointments and referrals. When I had been referred to the perinatal team I felt hope as this was their area of expertise however, I was left feeling worse than ever.

A social worker and doctor came to my home and to begin with it was an assessment, I had already done 3 assessments with other mental health teams. The social worker and doctor were both asking me questions and when the social worker asked a question, then confirmed something with the doctor, the doctor said sorry I wasn’t listening. I was at the lowest point in my life and not wanting to be alive anymore and the doctor was not even listening to me. I was crying out for help, I wanted to feel okay again and be there for my family. I wasn’t shown any warmth or compassion and looking back I can’t imagine how this would have affected me had I not had the support I had. I found this to be completely unprofessional.

Now I can say the social worker was better as I had been referred to the crisis team and they rang me after hours to make sure I got with them okay. The doctor seemed to spend more time with their own thoughts.

They then asked to speak to my partner in private and he’s recently just told me how unhelpful he thought they were. They said they would go and have a meeting about my case, but would not be for another week. I didn’t have another week. This day was make or break for me.

Now for the positive story, I was taken to Causeway Hospital that night to meet with the crisis team, we were taken into a room (me and my partner) we spoke with 2 of the mental health nurses and they reassured us a doctor would be with us the following Monday, I felt a bit panicky knowing I had to go home and face another night of this but they made assurances that I would feel better having spoke to the doctor.

My partner was weary as we had already been with so many people and no one was helping.

From the off, the Dr we saw was amazing, they changed my meds to suit my needs at that time. They promised they would get me feeling better, they made me feel reassured that this wouldn’t last forever, they give me medication that helped me get better so I could look after my son, they made great suggestions of how to help at home, both to me and my partner. They and the amazing nurses at the crisis team were with me every step of the way. They were so caring and compassionate.

I have missed working with them but will be forever grateful for how I was cared for. They honestly saved my life.