"My stay"

There is a bit of a problem on the Ward with lack of Participation from the outset, an attitude of Medicate based on the referral notes which can be from Police, Family, Neighbours etc. In my case it was proved through Assessment that my referral was based on untruth. Once I had refused medication and insisted that the reasons be looked into, and I was given the time to prove with evidence the Case, the Staff kicked in and were brilliant and I couldn't have wished for a better Service. I think the reason is based on under resourcing and staffing shortages. On one occasion my scheduled meeting with my named Nurse included her saying that she had to keep an eye on the door to the room because she was the only member of qualified staff on duty, so I asked her to postpone the meeting so she could get back on the Ward... Having met a few other Patients while I was in there, and got an insight into their problems, I think there needs to be a new policy of spending a few days looking into the background of admissions before strong meds are administered. After all, 1 in 4 homes in the UK are deemed "Abusive", and certainly in my Case, Police take calls with Anti Social Behaviour neighbours as red, and there is a problem there to be stamped out in the attitude and procedure of Policing. Better integration of Social Services, and "Participation" with Patients in all decisions from start to finish. There is a lack of Talking Therapy, Psychology and Counselling, as there is in the NHS Service in it's entirety Nationally, so that's not really Harplands specific, but with Acute Cases of Illness proved to be helped only by Psychology,and not historically successfully treated with medication, I'd expect an Acute Service to be a lot more modern in it's approach. Most of the Staff are highly trained and brilliant at their jobs, but there are a few there that are confrontational and obtuse. I noted that they mostly seemed to be the Staff that merged into Harplands after the close of St Stephens. Their approach was totally different from that of some of the younger Psychiactric Nurses with higher authority. When "Patient Participation" was brought up in a Patient Meeting, the answers from 2 of them showed they were ill informed or badly educated in the Code of Practise and the Commissioner's Report. Most of the confrontational situations in the Ward with Patients, in my view could have been avoided by Patient Participation, and those Staff seemed to take the attitude of tell Patients what to do, not why, and then restrain when the inevitable confrontation happened. There was no advice from these Staff, or knowledge shown of the Services on offer on the Ward or afterwards. On night duty they congregated in the corridor by the dorms and were very noisy, and when I complained and pointed out the lack of sleep endured by Patients, Patients who are monitered as part of diagnosis on their ability to sleep, they were confrontational. Patients are scared to complain.