"My child's journey"

I attended the #ENGAGE event at Glasgow Science Centre in November 2015 as it was billed as a get together of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Specialist Children's Services where people could come together and discuss positive and negative aspects of care provided.I was told by one representative that they weren't there to discuss anything along those lines and was promoting a poster of how good mental health in adolescents could best be achieved.

My child has had 2 lengthy stays in Skye House and there have been positive and negative aspects to these stays and I don't want to go into specific details about my child but will point out what I think could be improved and what is already working well.

Areas for improvement:

. Having specialised staff to deal with difficult to treat Bipolar Disorder and other difficult to treat mental health conditions as an expert had to be brought in from England as there was no equivalent in Scotland which is shameful.

. Staffing levels, as there were too many agency nurses and locum doctors which was upsetting for patients as well as being unhelpful

. There is a gym, games room and music room which I believe is rarely used due to low staffing levels.

. Poor attitudes of some staff towards the needs of the young people and their families in Skye House

. Communication between senior nursing staff and staff nurses and support staff was lacking at times

. Staff not listening to parents/carers concerns properly

. Too many young people were allowed to reach crisis point before any intervention takes place

. Psychology was generic and could be greatly improved upon.

. Staff need to remember that the young people in Skye house are ill and should try to reduce the amount of threats to young people who are experiencing difficulties/psychosis that they will involve the police.

. There is a kind of collective bias that has formed in Skye House staff culture where unhelpful views/strategies are accepted and even encouraged and rarely challenged. This does not make a great environment for anyone.

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Areas working well:

. There are a number of staff who genuinely care about the young people in Skye House and use humour, activities, and a down to earth, warm and caring approach.

. Occupational Therapists were very helpful with my child but they are spread rather thinly.

. Staff keep a close eye on any young person who is at risk of self-harm or suicide. This is very important as my child was kept safe in a way she could not have been at home and this was very much appreciated. There were times however this could have been better but overall she was kept safe.

. It is a very difficult and emotionally draining job that the staff at Skye House do and they should be supported by their management to be able to do that job well.

I am writing this about Skye House as it is a very valuable and much needed unit but it was not functioning particularly well during my daughter's stay. The problem is that there are too many desperately ill adolescents and too few inpatient places for them which is awful and needs to be addressed properly and not just with a quick temporary fix.

After leaving hospital my child was in the care of the excellent Bellshill/Coatbridge CAMHS team. Dr Sinclair was a great example of what psychiatrists should be like as she put a great deal of effort into making sure my daughter felt listened to and provided welcome advice and help. My daughter also had the CAMHS Intensive Treatment Team working with her and Peter and Marie were very helpful.

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