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I did not receive a call back

Posted By Mixed up but mindful

"I did not receive a call back"

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

(as a service user),

Once again I've been let down by the duty team receptionist and the duty team itself. I phoned the mental health team up again last Tuesday asking if I can speak to a duty worker because I needed help with my mental health.

The receptionist said that they couldn't help me because I was under st George's and they have their own duty team and that I have to speak to them, I couldn't believe what I was hearing because I had the same conversation with them only 2weeks earlier. I again told the receptionist that st George's don't have a duty team where I can ask for help and that I was always told that I can speak to a duty worker at SPA mental health team. The receptionist took my details and said that they were not sure who I should speak to and they would get someone to phone me back in the next 24hrs (what's good with that when I'm in a crisis situation).

I gave up hope by then and said thanks for your help and I will wait for a callback. I never received a call back from anyone. The upsetting thing is that if I ever ask for help I really have to feel at my worst, I would have tried all my coping strategies before to try and help myself, unfortunately that day my coping strategies didn't work and I was in a crisis situation and very badly selfharmed, that's why I was trying to get help.

I'm totally confused on who I can ring, I feel totally let down by the mental health team. The help line numbers I was given by the home treatment team a few years ago is the same one I still use now so why has the help stopped.

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Responses

Response from Paul Nicholson, General Manager, Community Services, SHSC 4 years ago
Paul Nicholson
General Manager, Community Services,
SHSC

Submitted on 24/07/2020 at 11:36
Published on Care Opinion at 11:36

Hi.

please phone me through our switchboard and I'll see if I can make sense of the support your receiving and how we can improve how we support you in the future

Tel: 271 6310 ask to be put through to Paul Nicholson

regards

Paul

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Mixed up but mindful (a service user)

It was good to be offered the contact, but I did not find it useful. Initially, I was not given clear information about the number to ring in a crisis.

When the suggestion came through to ring the rethink helpline it made me think what's the purpose of what the job of the duty team is meant to really do, I was always told that the duty team was available to anyone who was in a crisis situation and the point of phoning the duty team is that they can access your records and read up about you then they ring you back knowing about you and saving the distressed person to repeat about themselves because that in its self is stressful.

Rethink is a good place to phone if you feel just low and need someone to talk to,and they will listen to you without being judgemental, but when you feel suicidal they are not the ones to phone because you need someone who knows about you. I have noticed in the last few years that the duty team seem to pass their work on to my gp to sort my mental health out than take on the responsibility themselves.

The support from my GP has been amazing but because they have been sorting out my mental health my physical health has had to be put on hold what is frustrating for them and me. It really makes me wonder how many families have lost loved ones by them taking their own lives because of the lack off support from the mental health services.

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