Psychiatric abuse - Page 4

Buttercup. · 27-01-2010, 05:11 AM

I was sexually assaulted by another patient in the hospital.

I was placed in restraints for six hours once and lost circulation in my hands and feet. They were supposed to do range of motion every two hours at least. They didn't do it once.

I had a mental health worker talk about me to another worker right in front of me like I wasn't even there. She said, "why don't we just let her hurt herself, she's like an animal, maybe she'll bite a finger off" and "so this is mental illness? more like drama queen." both of these things were said while I was struggling and crying/panic attack. She made many more comments similar to these ones.

I was crying and just wanted somebody to talk to, but I was locked in seclusion because of trying to self harm earlier. I kept asking calmly if I could come out and talk to somebody. They ignored me. They didn't even acknowledge my existence. They left me in there for three more hours.

I had a mental health worker laugh at me while I was crying.

I'll add more later.

Buttercup. · 27-01-2010, 05:16 AM

Ok, I am 5'1 and at the time of this, I was extremeley underweight. I wasn't being aggressive, I was just really upset and crying. I was caught self harming. Six large men man handled me and held me down. All my limbs were pinned down, my torso, and my head was being pressed into the ground. With a lot of force. I wasn't even struggling. Oh and they had a request that I am not touched by men unless absolutely necessary because of my past trauma. Then after they strap me down the the stretcher, they rip my pants down and inject me with a large dose of haldol and adavan. They didn't even pull my pants back up.

27-01-2010, 06:25 AM

that's horrible. you should see if you or a loved one could file a complaint.

consequential · 27-01-2010, 06:29 AM

Shocking .Nothing would surprise me anymore .they think pll with illness are nothing and worth nothing .Its not fair .It could be them ,in a while

27-01-2010, 06:34 AM

well and they freak out so much about self harm. I mean i know self harm isn't exactly great, but i would seriously just be scratching my arm with no tools. yes it was a pretty good scratch but it barely left a scar and its not like i was bleeding or anything. yet this one hospital would freak if i got caught doing something really minor like that. instead of talking to me about why i did it, they just made me sit out in the lobby staring at the wall watching this one lady get restrained when she wasn't even being violent or in the seclusion room (i preferred the latter lol). it was that freaking out and me feeling like i wasn't in control that made me want to harm in the hospital!

TheHeroYouHate · 27-01-2010, 08:41 PM

I find a lot of this quite shocking, I've been in a few different hospitals and nothing like this has happened to me. In fact, pretty much the opposite!
A nurse watched me

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and didn't say anything to me about it until I later said to the NIC that I needed to talk to him and he said 'yes, i know what you've been doing' !?!?!
Although a nurse did slap me once, when I was trying to

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.
Also, I vaguely remember having my bathroom privacy taken away for no reason!
I was in my room, having a wee :P (I was in one of the ensuite rooms) and a nurse came into my room and demanded to know what I was doing in there, so I told her and she said she didn't believe me and made me unlock my door when I hadn't even finished!
So I showed her the evidence (lol) that I was telling the truth but she for some reason didn't believe me and said "I hear your mood is low today" and I said it was, but I didn't understand what was going on and she said "We're taking away your clothes and bathroom privacy, you can discuss this with the NIC in the morning" So I had to sleep in leggings and a tshirt, then walk around for 2 days in the same clothes because they just would not give me back my clothes.
The hospital I usually go to is quite odd because the rules tend to change every shift!
A lot of the staff there are also a bit too laid back.For example, there was a patient there who was very sexually harrassing towards me and often made reaaally inappropriate comments, and I was on a 1-1 and I was out in the garden and my nurse stayed inside, which happened quite often but i thought was fair enough most of the time, but this patient came outside and so I was alone with him, and the nurse who was standing inside watched this patient touch me inappropriately, and when I went back inside and asked him why he hadn't come out he just laughed at me!
In another hospital I was in for a very short admission, another patient attacked me in the garden and the nurse who was with me (I was on a 1-1, I always have been because I'm always in adult wards and I'm 17) just screamed and didn't even attempt to protect or help me (by this point the man was right in front of me and had his hands around my throat) she just left me to defend myself, then when we got back up on to the ward she kept telling everyone how brave and calm I had been and it was a bit of a piss take because I shouldn't have had to be, if that makes sense.
I often get discriminated against by nurses because of my diagnosis (BPD among other things) too, but I guess that's quite 'normal'.

MissAnonymous · 27-01-2010, 09:08 PM

The thing is restraints are not wrong in themselves, its the way they are used/abused and checks not carried out when people are in leg/arm/body restraints.

I have never been locked in restraints, but I have been physically restrained. Im sort of tiny, and at the time physically weak so they just had one or two people holding me down, I dont think it took much.

Forced treatment is often nessarsary but there are frequently cases where it is misused and applied innapropriatly. Im sure there are guidelines as to proper and improper use of restraints/ IMs etc, but they arn't enforced or checked enough.

Bathroom privacy.. god I had to take a shower, been on 1-2-1 for a week and once I was in the shower they opened the door out onto the corridor (mixed sex ward) so the the person in the room could have a ****ing chat with another member of staff. I know its not major, but very humiliating.

Steel Maiden · 28-01-2010, 09:56 AM

I'm sorry you had to go through that! I'm glad that your section has been lifted.

I was once in handcuffs for 10 hours =/ the police refused to take them off until I was on obs in the secure unit and I had to wait in A&E for ages with them.