"Getting help"

Dear mcb,

I am sorry to hear that you feel that you have not only lost an established relationship, but also feel unsure about your future care. Without knowing details of your case it is difficult for me to comment in full, however I hope I can still be of some help.

I am Guy Brookes, Associate Medical Director in Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and I have some responsibility to ensure that we provide a high standard of care for people with mental health problems in Leeds. It is therefore important for me to hear about your experience.

Recently we have undertaken a review of our services and made changes so that we are more responsive and more completely meet the needs of the population we serve. These changes have meant that in some areas clinicians have moved to take up different roles.

It’s not clear from your posting why your care was transferred back to your GP. This in itself is not unusual as people’s mental health problems usually improve so that they no longer need our help, and it might be that you and the psychiatrist felt you had made such progress that this was the case for you. I apologise if this decision was not clearly discussed with you.

When people do leave our care we like to provide a plan that can be followed to get help if needed again in the future. Without knowing the details of your needs it is difficult for me to advise you further. However, I would like to reassure you that the service for people in Cookridge has not been withdrawn and we continue to provide a comprehensive service across the city.

In order to help you (and your GP) further it would be useful to have more details of your circumstances. In order to do this privately, could I ask you to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison service (PALS) on 0800 0525790 or at pals.lypft@nhs.net.

It would then be possible for us to provide you with advice to meet your current needs, whether this means NHS support, or support from local community organisations.

PALS will also be able to advise your GP on how to use our new ‘single point of access’ referral system, to put you back in touch with a consultant if that’s the most appropriate course of action. We have recently improved and simplified our referral process, and it is concerning to me that your GP appears not to be aware of it.

I am sorry that you feel at a loss at present, but do hope that we can help you in the near future.

Yours sincerely

Guy Brookes

Associate Medical Director for Adult Mental Health Services,

Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust