tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33615081.post8017206932200677293..comments2022-12-21T12:03:20.392+00:00Comments on The Wife of a Schizophrenic: Patient rights verses patient safetyMr Mans Wifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794499533315461733noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33615081.post-36298627745587417342011-07-13T05:35:30.652+00:002011-07-13T05:35:30.652+00:00I wanted to say hello and thanks for having me as ...I wanted to say hello and thanks for having me as a follower on your blog. I also wanted to add that I used to work in the Psychiatry setting both inpatient and outpatient and I have to say that stays were determined according to diagnosis and insurance type as well as hospital beds availability and turn overs...<br /><br />So sad but true. The worst part is that whenever patients were labeled as "difficult" they got dumped to other hospitals.<br /><br />Regarding discharges, they've patients were placed on a voluntary out patient "Day Hospital" that was Monday-Friday which focused on after-care steps towards regaining mental stability and focusing on triggers and coping skills.<br /><br />Patients that required 24 hour 'round the clock care were typically were admitted to nursing homes unfortunately, so, I was wondering if you ever dealt with hospitals pushing nursing home care? and What are your thoughts on that?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33615081.post-28643779819498913142006-12-01T21:58:00.000+00:002006-12-01T21:58:00.000+00:00Thank you Anonymous, I'm sure you're right. Obvio...Thank you Anonymous, I'm sure you're right. Obviously I only have experience of where I live though, and so far I have found that bad staff outweigh good staff.<br /><br />The thing is, experiences such as my own or that of Slurry shouldn't happen <i>anywhere</i>. And obviously when there are news items such as the one in my original post then these problems are perhaps more common than people think.<br /><br />I know through my own experience that when people try to complain about such services it gets swept very neatly under the carpet. When families and patients are already feeling vulnerable, they are treated as if they are making a fuss over nothing. I would have pursued with my complaint, but I just couldn't cope anymore. In the NHS the higher up you go the more like a brick wall they become.<br /><br />Sorry, I'm going on and on a bit now! Thank you for your comment.Mr Mans Wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02794499533315461733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33615081.post-69299726006755360742006-12-01T19:59:00.000+00:002006-12-01T19:59:00.000+00:00I think it is very much a post code lottery like w...I think it is very much a post code lottery like with pretty much everything else in the NHS. There are some good staff and the bad ones, just like in any other job.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33615081.post-52183571700835179952006-12-01T19:12:00.000+00:002006-12-01T19:12:00.000+00:00Slurry, your experiences are truly shocking. Have...Slurry, your experiences are truly shocking. Have you thought about writing a blog of your own?<br /><br /><br /><br /><i>For other readers not familiar with mental health services: CMHT - Community Mental Health Team. Section 17 - patients who are detained in hospital under a section of the Mental Health Act can be granted leave from the ward under section 17</i>Mr Mans Wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02794499533315461733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33615081.post-7154256548926293362006-12-01T18:22:00.000+00:002006-12-01T18:22:00.000+00:00Yes I feel strongly that people are at a much grea...Yes I feel strongly that people are at a much greater risk in the first few weeks after discharge, and if let out on section 17 leave unsupervised. Down here in the depths of surrey,one of the most afulent areas of the country, we have one of the poorest mental health systems in the country,half the cmht are in need of medication more than half their clients, and when released from hospital it takes them about 6 weeks or till something goes wrong to realise that that person is out of hospital!<br />Some times the hosoitals are not much safer than the community, often there are violent paitents on acute wards, and self harm is rife, in some cases people who have commited suicide not in found for hours. It makes me angry that at the age of 24 i have lost a few friends and know of many others who have been failed by the system, and things arent set to get any better, but we stay strong for each other. Ps just read all your posts, really great reads!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33615081.post-25902458431536008232006-12-01T17:41:00.000+00:002006-12-01T17:41:00.000+00:00Hi there Slurry, thank you for posting.
Firstly I...Hi there Slurry, thank you for posting.<br /><br />Firstly I want to say how sorry I am that you have had the awful experience of losing friends through suicide.<br /><br />I agree with you that it is beyond belief that hospital staff often can’t see what is so glaringly obvious to everyone else – particularly other patients who are supposed to be so “unaware”. As for staff always getting things so wrong – I stopped listening to them a long time ago because I found that every time I took on board a piece of their advice it would back fire badly. Now I look at things this way: they know more than me about mental health generally, but I know more than them about Mr Mans mental health because I live with it.<br /><br />Do you agree that the level of risk increases once a patient leaves the ward?Mr Mans Wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02794499533315461733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33615081.post-56375376052263487512006-12-01T16:16:00.000+00:002006-12-01T16:16:00.000+00:00I have just stumbled across your blog, and think i...I have just stumbled across your blog, and think its great, as a schizophrenic myself its very intresting to see things from a carers point of veiw, I am very well controlled on medication, but alot of my friends arent, but yet are still let out on section 17 leave and quite a number have ended up comitting suicide, or severly self harming and in some cases harming other people. I find it sad thst hospitals dont take in to account or sometimes even do risk assesments, how is it i can see they shouldnt be out on leave but all these staff with many yrs in the job think they are safe and allways get it so wrong??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33615081.post-84111155059238982252006-11-27T01:29:00.000+00:002006-11-27T01:29:00.000+00:00Yes I do. Thank you for your comment Inspector Ga...Yes I do. Thank you for your comment Inspector Gadget.<br /><br />As far as quality goes I saw a <i>huge</i> difference in the attitudes of staff between two different hospitals in the same town.<br /><br />Actually, the day Mr Man attempted suicide the nurse who took my call was one who usually worked in the other hospital. After expressing my concerns she wasted no time in checking on Mr Man to see if he was safe, but had one of the usual staff answered I doubt that they would have bothered. (I'll write more about this in detail another time.)<br /><br />I don't understand why some people bother doing the job to be honest. Having nurses that don't <i>care</i> is like having police officers with no sense of justice. What's the point? <br /><br />As for quantity of provisions, I suppose it depends on how each area spends their funds.Mr Mans Wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02794499533315461733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33615081.post-45827763361945125562006-11-27T01:08:00.000+00:002006-11-27T01:08:00.000+00:00The quality and quantity of mental health provisio...The quality and quantity of mental health provision depends very much upon where you live. This is another 'post code' lottery. I have personal experience of two Health Authorities, one good and one not, the boundary between them only being the river which runs through the village. It's unfair that the quality of care is so different just because you happen to live one side of a river - if you see my meaning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com