"Shocking - avoid at all costs for you or your..."

It has taken me a while to write this review as my mental health has been stabilising and I have been resuming normal life.

I have been in three different NHS psychiatric facilities and Albany Lodge felt both unsafe and uncaring relative to the other two.

To be honest, I was shocked to see that care like this exists under the NHS today.

Try to do anything you can to avoid staying here if you require time as an inpatient.

Twenty-four patients are under the care of principally one consultant psychiatrist and one registrar, making ward rounds rare.

Nursing and HCA positions felt understaffed.

The ward was reliant heavily upon agency nurses and agency HCAs.

The ratio of patients to staff was definitely poor relative to the other places I had stayed (both medium-low secure).

I did not feel like I was cared for with dignity or respect.

Ward staff including HCAs and support workers were tricky to speak to as they were often trying to avoid contact with patients; they stayed in the office space.

I frequently experienced the feeling of being straightforwardly ignored by the staff of Albany Lodge when trying to speak to somebody.

The most worrying thing to experience with regards to staffing was an occasion involving dishonesty and deceit.

Overall, it felt more like the staff were attempting to collude than work together.

The consultant was condescending, but I did feel like I was involved in decisions about my care some of the time.

On a positive note, the receptionist was the one member of staff who was consistently thoughtful, friendly and caring.

The eating area was tiny and the whole ward smelt of food.

Two side rooms with TVs did make a positive difference.

Graffiti upon the walls of my room and the bathrooms were filthy.

Certain fittings within my room were unsafe and would pose a significant risk to those attempting to self harm.

To draw upon a somewhat overused comparison, which I do not use lightly, the atmosphere felt less like a ward and more like a prison.

There was a large proportion of people under section, like me, and so had no choice about whether they could leave or not.

Perhaps this explains some of the poor care and facilities provided?