"Treatment in Brodie Ward"

I was admitted an treated successfully for a manic episode with psychosis. The room was comfortable, ward clean and food excellent. However, there was a lot that was wrong that suggested patient centred care has yet to reach Brodie Ward.

I was free of symptoms by Tuesday, my third day on the ward. But I was kept in for a week to give the Dr time to sort my follow-up care. There was no therapeutic input in terms of psychology, relaxation - all promised in the leaflet. I would like compensation for this time when I could have been recovering at home.

As a voluntary patient I asked to pop out for a bar of chocolate. This was denied. A Dr appeared, told me where to sit in my own room, wanted to ask why I wanted discharged (I hadn't said that), said I'd been manic because I'd stopped taking my lithium (I had not stopped taking my lithium). All rather rude and entirely wrong. Leaflets were produced explained what voluntary meant.

It took 5 days for an inhaler to arrive for me - FIVE days - I need to take it twice per day. Other creams took 6 days, causing physical symptoms to worsen.

Some staff spoke to me like I was a child. When I was irritated, this was something I wasn't allowed to be. For example, I had a cold, had lemsip removed from my room "in case you overdose", but then was refused lemsip or similar from the dispensary because it hadn't been prescribed by a doctor.

Nobody seemed to care about my welfare or have any desire for me to get better. It was all about procedures. While in a vulnerable position, that's actually very scary because nurses have an awful lot of power over you.

None of the services or procedures in the ward leaflet happened or were offered to me. One day, a nurse asked if anyone wanted to go to a relaxation class - I and two fellow-patients went along. We were turned away from the class - it was explained to the nurse, not to us, that we were too late to go in. Patient centred? Occupational therapy centred? I completed a complaint form. On my last day, a nurse told me someone from upstairs would like to talk to me about it - I said I had said everything on the form and didn't have time because I was departing that day. She appeared anyway and even though I explained I did not want to spend more of my time on the complaint as I had said everything in the form, she persisted in wishing to talk.

Doctor availability held up my care. Eg I was followed for two days 24 hours per day when I did not need to be because a Dr hadn't come to the ward to take off the obs. I should have been let home that day. Instead, I had to wait for Drs to email other Drs to arrange outpatient appointments after I left.

I would have welcomed psychological input on how not to get ill upon leaving hospital. As it was there was zero therapeutic input while I was on the ward beyond medication. Zero. Being on a psych ward, especially one with such poor levels of care, is NOT therapeutic.

My flight home was due to be in the afternoon, but it was booked for the evening when my partner couldn't pick me up from the airport. This wasn't communicated to me at all until I started to leave in time for the earlier flight. Again, I was left with the impression that nobody cared about my welfare.

I could go on. I can't say I didn't feel safe on Brodie ward. I did and that's the main thing. But this was by quite some distance the worst care I've had in a psych ward - I was in 7 between 2000-2003, I'm really sad that things have gotten so much worse since I was last ill.

I'd like compensation to cover the cost of my partner having to fly to Aberdeen because I was kept in due to medical admin rather than for my own wellbeing, plus the damage done to my health of being kept on that ward when I didn't need to be, and by way of apology for a job badly done.

Patient centred care. Look it up. Deliver it. It's not about money, it's an attitude and one chillingly absent from Brodie Ward.