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This has made me feel wrong to have sought help

Posted By Surprised

"This has made me feel wrong to have sought help"

About: Crisis Mental Health / Single point of access team (SPA) & Emotional Wellbeing Service (EWS)

(as a service user),

Having been assessed by both a social worker & a cpn , they decided that I should take part in a psycho educational group for people with borderline personality disorder and have so referred me, despite my explaining that I have previously done it already and as it is a diagnosis I disagree with, the BPD group I attended only confirmed why I didn't and don't relate to BPD !  I feel like it's a case of it's in my notes so therefore it must be true ! Hmm also in my notes is I am on the waiting list for assessment with the team who can identify and diagnose ASD formally Aspergers which I do identify with !

I feel too like if I don't do the group I'll be seen as none compliant !

The workers also requested a medication review with one of the medics , turned out a medic did a review without me present , huh how can the medic possibly know how I am struggling with medications ?

Lastly and this is perhaps the corker !  Having problems with the housing environment where I live and finding the local council housing not to be helpful, the SPA worker has referred me to the councils community support worker service !  This has made feel like I was wrong to seek help ! 

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Responses

Response from Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust 5 years ago
Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 31/12/2018 at 17:46
Published on Care Opinion on 01/01/2019 at 12:21

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. We appreciate feedback in order to develop our services.

Sometimes the outcome of assessments by our qualified mental health professionals is referrals to other services. I understand that the group you refer to is one of the courses on offer from the Short Term Educational Programme (STEP) identified as an Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder/Emotional Sensitivity course. Some of the service users we refer to this group do not have a diagnosis but identify as emotionally sensitive. Our emotions can impact on us differently at different times so some service users access the group more than once, usually at least after 6 months from attending it previously, to refresh their knowledge of how to manage these. Moreover, STEP offer an enrolment appointment and different psycho educational courses so it may be that if you choose to attend this appointment, it may be an additional or different course is recommended. I am sorry if you feel that you have been referred against your wishes and you do not have to attend if you do not want to.

Unfortunately, we do currently have a waiting list for appointments with a medical professional and in order to avoid further wait, our mental health professionals sometimes request that medications are reviewed without a face to face appointment if appropriate. The mental health professional will usually provide information on medication they have obtained from the service user during assessment. This is then considered alongside any information that can be obtained from historical records and GP’s, for example, such as what medication has been tried before, its effectiveness, any side effects etc. This can be used to formulate recommendations for medication alterations if necessary.

There are various support agencies that can offer assistance with housing issues. I am sorry if you feel that you were referred to a support agency that you think will not be helpful to you. If you wish to get in touch we can provide information on other agencies that may be more appropriate to you and complete the necessary referral/s.

This response is based on the information provided above, however, if you wish to provide further information specific to your experience please do not hesitate to contact SPA on 0114 2263636.

Update posted by Surprised (a service user)

Thank you for your response !

I have rang and liaised again as stated I could. I accept you have waiting list for seeing medics and though I note your other comments around medication reviews, I have learnt from NHS Governance protocols that doing a medication review without the patient present is unprofessional and therefore not acceptable at all ! The reviewing clinician can have patient history from GP / case notes and like you say details from the assessing mental health staff, however patients may not mentioned something to the assessing staff member or could remember something after assessment that can then be shared with the medic etc etc ! So at least my request has now been put back to the medics team !

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