"Leicestershire Adult Mental Health and Learning Disabilities / Adult Community Mental Health Teams"

I have been passed around the different parts of this service for seven months now. Each time I've been led to expect that something would come of the referral. Three months ago, already desperate and not functioning, I was referred for an assessment with CMHT. In the meantime I hit rock bottom and lacked capacity to seek support myself. A family member made the call and I was picked up by the Crisis Resolution Team, as a result of which I had a very helpful stay in the Crisis House. These two teams were exceptionally helpful. However, the Crisis Resolution Team seemed to see their role as tiding me over until I could be picked up by CMHT. They told me they were discharging me to my GP and CPN. When I queried whether I had a CPN, they assured me that I did. Having struggled for a few weeks but hopeful that CMHT would be able to help, my hour and a half's assessment resulted in being told I didn't qualify for a CPN, could consider increasing my medication, and they could refer me for CBT which has an 18-month waiting list.

This was a waste of NHS time and significantly lowered my confidence and mood. Since then I've found my mood dropping further and anxiety increasing. I rang the Central Access Point, who recommended that I speak to my GP. I spoke to my GP who referred me for a new assessment, which was done through the Central Access Point. The result of the assessment was that I did not qualify for a CPN or Crisis support because I did not have a plan to take my own life. And then it was recommended that I call the Central Access Point for emotional support 24/7. I explained that this is what I'd done, that I'd been advised to contact my GP, which had resulted in this assessment. On these lines, the passing back and forth from one provider to another and the building of expectations of support can continue indefinitely and gives the illusion that action is being taken.

However, it doesn't continue indefinitely because experiences like this can eventually results in crisis. By the end of the assessment I said I was having suicidal thoughts because I felt so isolated and let down and also increasingly anxious from trying to find a way through the system. I was then asked repeatedly whether I now consented to being referred to the Crisis team. Given the conversation which had gone before, I found this question was ridiculous. I now await a test to be ill enough to get through the next hoop.