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Care Opinion

No one is helping us

Posted By Helpneededforchange

"No one is helping us"

About: Crosshouse Hospital / Accident & Emergency NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service)

(as a relative),

After a long battle with depression my ex partner broke down and asked for help. He was feeling suicidal and couldn’t squash the overwhelming negative thoughts in his mind.

Our first port of call was to phone NHS24, who eventually phoned him back to tell him there was unfortunately nothing they could do, all services were stretched to the limit and there was no help available. To hear this was absolutely staggering and the whole family were dumbfounded.

Feeling defeated, I phoned nhs24 again and literally begged them for help.

A consultant phoned him back and advised him to go to A& E at crosshouse hospital. Once he arrived at crosshouse hospital he was told he had to wait to be assessed, and was told once more that they might not be able to help him and could’nt guarantee admission. At 2am staff told him what we already feared, he wouldn’t be getting any help tonight and we had no option but to take him home.

I can’t stress just how desperate and dire our situation is, we are talking about a grown man begging staff, crying his eyes out, telling them unequivocally that when he left he was going to commit suicide as the pain in his mind was unbearable.

Now the family are having to take turns babysitting a Grown man, around the clock, to ensure he doesn’t succeed in harming himself. I have never been so disappointed in crosshouse hospital and the NHS. I feel like this man is going to die from self harm and no one is helping us.  

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Responses

Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 4 years ago
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 27/06/2019 at 16:48
Published on Care Opinion at 16:48

picture of Shona Lawrence

Dear Helpneededforchange

I am very concerned to read of your ex partner’s experience and can only imagine how worrying and distressing this must be for you all. It sounds extremely stressful and I am so sorry that you are all going through such a difficult time.

I see from your story that two calls were made to NHS 24 and I would like to understand more about how we managed your ex-partner's care. If you would be kind enough to contact me on 0141 337 4597 or by email at Patient.Experience@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk then, with some further detail, I would be able to arrange a review of the calls to NHS 24 to establish if there is anything we could have done differently or better. I will also liaise with my colleagues within NHS Ayrshire & Arran in respect of the service they provided.

I hope to hear from you further as I would like to assist in any way possible to ensure your ex-partner, and you all, as his caring family, receive the support you require.

With kind regards

Shona Lawrence

Patient Experience Manager

NHS 24

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Response from Eunice Goodwin, Patient Feedback Manager for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Quality Improvement and Governance Team, NHS Ayrshire and Arran 4 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 27/06/2019 at 17:54
Published on Care Opinion at 17:55

picture of Eunice Goodwin

Dear HelpNeededForChange,

I am really sorry that you and your ex partner have been so distressed and disappointed with the recent care offered. In a situation such as this, it is difficult to unpick what has happened (or not as the case may be). Often, the picture is more complex than it seems.

There are two main aspects to this (as I see it).

Firstly, to ensure your ex partner is safe and supported. I understand they were given contact details regarding breathing space and the Samaritans. Also, it is really important to make sure they reach out to their GP.

Secondly, you raise some serious points. After discussion with the Clinical Director of the Emergency Department, his advice is that your ex partner should go through the official complaints process so that we can learn and share that learning.

The Complaints Team’s phone number is 0800 169 1441 or 01292 513620.

This is best done by the person with the complaint as consent is required for any investigation to go ahead.

I do hope your ex partner gets all the support and help he needs.

Kindest regards,

Eunice

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Update posted by Helpneededforchange (a relative)

Eunice thankyou for taking the time to reply.

I wish I had added more detail for clarification, he has been seeing his GP regularly for about 10 months now, we are also paying for him to see a private counsellor fortnightly (NHS waiting times forced our hand- we can’t afford it).

Also I would like to point out that my intention isn’t to blame any particular staff members, I feel guilt for complaining all together as I know how hard working they are and often overstretched.

I appreciate your advice, however it’s very difficult to try and get him to explain it all again to yet even more strangers, he’s mentally and emotionally exhausted. Although I will try my best. Kind regards

Shona, again thankyou for taking the time to reply.

I would be more than happy to discuss this with you further and will get in contact in the morning. I feel you have shown more empathy and compassion towards us in just a few paragraphs, compared to the NHS services we have been in contact with. Sincerest thanks, it’s incredibly isolating and frustrating trying to support a person in a crisis like this. I am really looking forward to speaking with you.

Kind regards.

Thanks again Eunice and Shona for your compassion and understanding.

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