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Care Opinion

Lack of support

Posted By bam

"Lack of support"

About: Ayrshire & Arran Community Services / Community Mental Health Team

(as a service user),

I suffer from depression, OCD and anxiety, and I have been using mental health services on and off for 15 years. In that time I have been referred to mental health services by my GP whenever I have needed treatment. I recently went to my GP because I was suffering from acute anxiety and I asked for a referral to mental health services. I was told that they operate a self referral service now, which I used. However, I received a letter from mental health services in which I was told that I wasn't eligible to be seen by them, and the letter included a list of websites instead. I went back to my GP, who didn't seem to be surprised, and I was given a computer programme called Beating the Blues. I found this to be very general and not at all relevant to my mental health problems. I completed part of it before I gave up using it. All I want is to be able to talk to someone about my mental health problems, but it seems they are too understaffed and underfunded and are only dealing with the most serious cases such as people who are "suicidal and schizophrenic."

I want to try and treat my problems, and one of these problems is my inability to use public transport due to my OCD. I want to be able to try and use public transport to see if I can help myself and I subsequently wrote to North Ayrshire Mental Health services to ask if they would fill in a Mental Health form for me to apply for a bus pass under the mental health criteria, as I am on benefits and cannot afford to regularly use public transport. I pointed out to them that I have had this form filled in for me 3 times over the last 10 years or so by North Ayrshire Mental Health Services (the mental health bus pass only lasts for 3 years at a time.) However, I was told that they could not do it because I'm not receiving treatment from them.  So they won't see me to give me treatment, but when I try to do something to help myself, they won't help with that either. Exactly what am I supposed to do?

I have had problems with North Ayrshire Mental Health services a few years ago, when I felt I was experiencing homophobia from them and I complained. I wonder if that has affected how I'm being treated now, even though I was assured at the time that it wouldn't affect me accessing treatment in future. 

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Responses

Response from Eunice Goodwin, Patient Feedback Manager for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Quality Improvement and Governance Team, NHS Ayrshire and Arran 5 years ago
Eunice Goodwin
Patient Feedback Manager for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Quality Improvement and Governance Team,
NHS Ayrshire and Arran

I respond initially to most of the posts and ensure they are passed to the appropriate team whether they are compliments, observations or grumbles. It is important to make sure all issues are addressed and I try to encourage that to happen for all the posts as required.

Submitted on 10/07/2018 at 12:03
Published on Care Opinion at 15:48

picture of Eunice Goodwin

Dear bam,

I have been asked to post this on behalf of Mairi Gribben, Interim Senior Manager, Adult Community Mental Health Service, North Ayrshire H&SC Partnership

"I am sorry to hear about your concerns, in order to have a better understanding can you please contact Gillian Clowes, Team leader on 01294 470010 to see if there is anything that we can do to alleviate your concerns".

Kind regards,

Eunice

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

Update posted by bam (a service user)

Thank you for your reply, however I have learned from past experience not to discuss important matters by telephone with anyone, including North Ayrshire mental health services. People often say things which they later deny saying, or they will later claim to have said something which they didn't. If I have it in writing either by e-mail or letter then I have evidence of what was said. So I am afraid I cannot make contact by telephone like you suggest.

As for alleviating my concerns, the best way that North Ayrshire mental health can do that is to give me an appointment to speak to someone about my mental health problems before they decide if they can help me or not, or at the very least complete the form so I can apply for a new bus pass and I can then try to help myself get better.

I wasn't even given an assessment appointment this time, so I don't know how they can say that I'm not eligible for treatment when they haven't even spoken to me. When I phoned up to ask for a self referral, all they did was take my name and address and such details, I wasn't even asked what my current mental health problems are, so how can they say I'm not eligible for treatment when they don't even know what mental health problems I have?

I realise that the NHS is underfunded and understaffed, and that emergency and serious cases need to be prioritised, but this is the first time in my life that I have been denied NHS treatment outright without even being seen or spoken to, and then when I ask for a little administrative help which could help my mental health problems (the bus pass form) which has been given to me 3 times in the last 11 years, even that is being denied to me now.

I feel that it is my past complaint of homophobia within North Ayrshire mental health services that is being held against me, even though I was assured at the time that this would not happen. I wondered if it was being covered up at the time instead of being investigated, and now I'm convinced it was being covered up. A couple of other pieces of information have come to light in the past 2 or 3 years which make me think this, and now the way I'm being treated just confirms it.

Response from Eunice Goodwin, Patient Feedback Manager for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Quality Improvement and Governance Team, NHS Ayrshire and Arran 5 years ago
Eunice Goodwin
Patient Feedback Manager for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Quality Improvement and Governance Team,
NHS Ayrshire and Arran

I respond initially to most of the posts and ensure they are passed to the appropriate team whether they are compliments, observations or grumbles. It is important to make sure all issues are addressed and I try to encourage that to happen for all the posts as required.

Submitted on 16/07/2018 at 08:48
Published on Care Opinion at 14:03

picture of Eunice Goodwin

Dear BAM,

I have been asked if I can encourage you to provide your details so that the management in the Mental Health team can offer you an assessment. If you want you can either contact Gillian Clowes, Team leader on 01294 470010, or email me at eunice.goodwin@aapct.scot.nhs.uk. Can you please tell us your name, date of birth, address and your preferred method of contact,and the details to enable that. For example, if you prefer email contact, please let us know this, along with the email address you want us to use to correspond.

Thank you,

Eunice

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

Update posted by bam (a service user)

I have been in contact as requested in the latest response.

While I am glad to be offered an appointment, I'm disappointed that it took me writing my story on Care Opinion to do so.

I did write privately to North Ayrshire Mental Health services (as I described in my initial story) and at that point they were still unwilling to help me. It's only now that I've made my story public that they are offering me an appointment. I think that most people could understand my scepticism and concerns about this.

Update posted by bam (a service user)

Update: I attended an assessment appointment one week ago, with two Community Psychiatric Nurses (CPN). I was told that they would need to speak to their psychology department to see what treatment I could be offered, if any. I was told that I would hear from them by the end of last week. I've not heard anything yet. I'm not saying it's the fault of the CPNs who met me last week, it could be psychology dragging it's heels. I'm really disappointed that I'm still receiving poor treatment even now.

Update posted by bam (a service user)

I have just attended an assessment appointment with the Psychology department at the Three Towns Resource Centre in Saltcoats. I met with a two members of staff. I felt that this was a really good appointment. I felt like I was listened to and that I was taken seriously. I was given every chance to ask questions and say what I wanted to say. Both the people I met with were friendly and welcoming. I was a bit nervous beforehand but the appointment was really good. We talked about what kind of treatment would be helpful for me and (if I've understood correctly) I'm going to be put on the waiting list to see a one member of staff initially for a few sessions, with the intention to then move on to treatment for my OCD. I now feel quite hopeful about getting the right treatment.

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