My best friend has been suffering a relapse in their mental health since the end of February and was subsequently referred to the Single Point of Access/CRHT by their GP. Unfortunately at this point, no intervention was offered and my friend really struggled and still struggles to talk on the phone, as is the case with severe Anxiety and Depression-this resulted in my freind's mental state deteriorating further and feeling like no hope was available. They then tried to take their own life and was subsequently assessed by the Liaison Team in hospital 2 days after my friend was told they would be. My friend was sent home with support from the Home Treatment Team who visited 3 times before discharge.
After much consideration by my friend and her family, they came to stay with me for a week so I could support them due to huge concerns for their own safety. Both my friend's partner and I had consent from my friend for the team to speak to us if they failed to make contact, this was rarely followed up. Following discharge no further follow up was offered despite the suggesting of a referral to IAPT. As a result of this my friend has continued to suffer badly with their mental health.
The support from the GP has been fantastic and further referrals have been made to the Single Point of Access team; with one phone call from the team asking her “what do you want us to do”. You are the experts in this area, my friend is vulnerable and unsure of what the best way forward is; their main concern at the moment being the overwhelming voices that they are experiencing causing an evermore increase of Anxiety and Panic Attacks, resulting in even more ongoing concerns about personal safety. My friend has been referred to the team again who have tried to contact once and no further. We all understand resources are stretched in the NHS. However this is somebody who is crying out for help and feels failed by Mental Health Services, resulting in them not trusting the service. Both myself and my friend's partner are of course happy to support them, however just because we do this, it does not mean they deserves any less from services.
"Lack of MH support"
About: Crisis Mental Health / Adult home treatment teams (North and South) Crisis Mental Health Adult home treatment teams (North and South) S10 3TH Crisis Mental Health / Single point of access team (SPA) & Emotional Wellbeing Service (EWS) Crisis Mental Health Single point of access team (SPA) & Emotional Wellbeing Service (EWS) S10 3TH
Posted by Sim11 (as ),
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