Sunday, November 26, 2006
Mental Health Services
I despair sometimes at the availability of adequate mental health services.
I'll tell you the story in disguised form, although it must be remembered there are always at least two sides to every story and I haven't heard the one from our local mental health trust.
Very well educated, unemployed, in the closet patient "A" is referred to mental health services. Caseworker from mental health trust tells "A" that he won't be seeing a psychiatrist, despite being referred by his GP. "A" then lets his GP know that he has attempted suicide and been saved by a passer-by.
"A" was pretty agitated and wanted the GP to phone about it, GP said: "I'm not going to phone - I'm going to refer you directly" "A" still wants GP to phone. GP says to "A" "If you come to a brick wall you don't try and knock it down. You try another way".
So "A" is given his referral directly and asked to attend the hospital and speak with the psychiatrists secretary straight away. Having had some contact with the patient when writing his referral letter I tried to reassure the patient that having mental health problems wasn't unusual and that we wanted him to get help and take care of himself.
I have to wonder how many people go to the trouble of asking for help and then get a knock back like patient "A" and go off the rails and kill themselves. I wonder if they realise just how fragile people can be. Just because you are well educated and can talk coherently doesn't mean you don't need help.
I'll tell you the story in disguised form, although it must be remembered there are always at least two sides to every story and I haven't heard the one from our local mental health trust.
Very well educated, unemployed, in the closet patient "A" is referred to mental health services. Caseworker from mental health trust tells "A" that he won't be seeing a psychiatrist, despite being referred by his GP. "A" then lets his GP know that he has attempted suicide and been saved by a passer-by.
"A" was pretty agitated and wanted the GP to phone about it, GP said: "I'm not going to phone - I'm going to refer you directly" "A" still wants GP to phone. GP says to "A" "If you come to a brick wall you don't try and knock it down. You try another way".
So "A" is given his referral directly and asked to attend the hospital and speak with the psychiatrists secretary straight away. Having had some contact with the patient when writing his referral letter I tried to reassure the patient that having mental health problems wasn't unusual and that we wanted him to get help and take care of himself.
I have to wonder how many people go to the trouble of asking for help and then get a knock back like patient "A" and go off the rails and kill themselves. I wonder if they realise just how fragile people can be. Just because you are well educated and can talk coherently doesn't mean you don't need help.
