"Trying to access help"

My partner has suffered from mental health issues for over 20 years and has in the past been prescribed antidepressants via his G. P. He has suffered from distinct mood swings in the twenty years I have known him but has predominantly been depressed and only previously accessed services when depressed. Our teenage daughter was hospitalised last year and diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder and with it being very likely that my partner also has the same condition I persuaded him to access psychiatric services as he was becoming quite unwell in the hope he would get the help he very much needed.

This turned out to be an extremely difficult and energy consuming process as he has been seen by four different psychiatrists in five appointments at Cumbernauld all of whom have had different opinions as to what his diagnosis is and who have prescribed different treatments. None of the doctors seen have spoken English as a first language which has led to communication issues in regards to a basic understanding of his current situation and the problems he has experienced.

He has been extremely depressed which considering our daughter is currently in hospital again is a very difficult situation to deal with as each affects the other and we also have a son with Autism. He desperately wishes to be well and is trying all of the self help techniques we have learned with our daughter but he requires the correct medication to function properly as he is feeling suicidal. He was prescribed antidepressants in December and informed that he would not be seen for three months.

Previously I spent a full day on the phone being passed from pillar to post trying to get him a sooner appointment as his condition had deteriorated and had to wait ten days for a G. P appointment where he was then referred back to psychiatric services which took weeks.

If you are seriously depressed you do not have the energy or motivation to seek help and when that help turns out to be well below the standard that might be expected it is devastating not just for the person concerned but also their immediate family.

Bipolar II is not easily recognised and my partner urgently requires a full assessment by someone who specialises in Bipolar disorder and I despair of him actually getting that help as the current system can only be described as awful.

I am going to try and access help once more tomorrow but I am also going to contact the Mental Welfare Commission as I feel that the services experienced should be of a better standard than is currently available.