I've had a look on this website about the Cassel, but has anyone actually been there that could tell me what it's like? I'm thinking it may be the next step for me.
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back, everything is different…
you once called your brain a hard drive, well say hello to the virus.
I know that a girl from the ward I used to be in has gone to Cassel...Apparently its really nice, but I don't know for sure.
PM me if you want a PDF copy of the ICD-10or the Mental Health Act 1983/2007. I ALSO HAVE THE DSM-V BOOK and am a pharmacology student.
I have a visual impairment / neurological problems so I need people to type in clear text and no funny fonts. Also excuse any typos, my vision blocks things out.
I have autism and have problems communicating, PMs included.
Just becasue I type well doesn't mean I speak well. I am only part time verbal.
Do you have to be in their area to be treated there?
I kinda remember someone from an (old) ed group looking at going there.
I want to kiss the bottom of the ocean before I burst through its surface into the sunlight, otherwise I will always be wondering about what was left unseen at the bottom
i'm tired of chasing my dreams. i'm just gonna ask where they're going, and hook up with them later.
I've been to The Cassel (as an out of area patient). I'm really tired tonight so I'll post about it tomorrow. Though from what i've heard it's changed a bit. I was on the adolescent unit which is apparently no more, it's been merged with the adult unit. Bit sad really. Anyway, I gained a lot from my experiences there.
PM me if you want a PDF copy of the ICD-10or the Mental Health Act 1983/2007. I ALSO HAVE THE DSM-V BOOK and am a pharmacology student.
I have a visual impairment / neurological problems so I need people to type in clear text and no funny fonts. Also excuse any typos, my vision blocks things out.
I have autism and have problems communicating, PMs included.
Just becasue I type well doesn't mean I speak well. I am only part time verbal.
Here's some stuff about The Cassel. In a hide box cos it's loooooooong. Ignore all references to the adolescent unit, it's gone apparently. Hope it's useful
The following content has been hidden - Reason : Long
Sorry this has taken so long, I didn’t feel well yesterday. So I’ll run through a typical day at The Cassel and then add stuff if that’s OK.
9 AM
‘Working’ day starts with workgroup. There are basically three units on the hospital; adult, adolescent and family unit. Each unit has an area of the hospital they are responsible for and so during workgroup each unit cleans/maintains their area. I was on the adolescent unit, which actually goes up to age 23, and we were responsible for the dining room. We had to clean the tables, floors, windows, empty the bin etc. Adult unit responsibilities I think included the alcove and smoking room (that may have been abolished due to the new legislation).
9.30 AM
‘Firm’. Everyday, except Tuesday, when there is a big community meeting instead. Firm group is where each unit meets on their own in their unit room to discuss issues happening on their unit. They can be both practical and emotional. All patients and staff on the unit attend firm every day. On Mondays and Fridays the consultant psychiatrist in charge of the unit comes to firm (this may be different days on the adult unit – I don’t know). The meeting is chaired by the unit chairs who are generally voted in by the other patients after nominating themselves. This didn’t happen in practice on the adolescent unit because there were so few of us. Instead as new patients arrived they took over after their first assessment. You generally stay firm chair for three months. Each unit has a diary where things that are happening are recorded, e.g. a patient visiting for assessment, a coffee trip, etc and where the agenda for each day’s firm is recorded. Everyone is expected to be firm chair at some point during their admission. It can be a very challenging role, I certainly found it so, but you can learn loads about how to handle conflict, time-keeping, leadership etc. Anyone on the unit can contribute to the agenda.
10.15 AM
Free time, on the whole, for patients, while unit staff meets to discuss patients. They meet four days a week so progress is constantly monitored. It’s not like a weekly ward round on an acute ward.
Between now and 1 there may be a group there may not. On Thursdays there is a group, I’ve forgotten what it’s called, where all the patients and staff involved in running the community meet to discuss issues that need discussing. I think it’s called community management. It is attended by the community chairs and others’ with management roles. Business issues are discussed, e.g. what should we spend the jumble sale money on etc? Thursday morning there is also a new patients’ group where all new patients meet to talk about how they are finding things. You go to this until you have your first assessment. There is also weekend group which is optional. If you have concern about your weekend it’s good to go and get support. The expectation is that patients go home every weekend.
1 PM
Lunch. Everyone is expected to go and everyone is expected to eat in the dining room together. I was really worried about it but actually it is a really nice social time. Lunch is cooked by a NHS chef but all other meals are done by patients. Breakfast is done by a breakfast group and that changes on a daily rota. The breakfast group lays out cereals, toast etc expect on Tuesdays when the breakfast group does a full cooked breakfast for everyone prior to the big Tuesday morning community meeting. A week after admission you will be assigned a job on the rota by the community chairs. You find out what your job is by looking on the rota board which is on the notice board by the alcove.
Afternoon Varies – Community group/unit activities e.g. cinema/bowling whatever/individual therapy/free time and also group therapy. Adolescents have group therapy twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays but adults just have a weekly group therapy session.
3.45 pm
Tea and cakes. This is very informal, people just go and have a cup of tea in the community room and mooch around and talk about their day. Tea and cakes is a separate rota to the meals rota and is done in pairs. After tea and cakes all staff leave apart from one member who is then duty member of staff. They help cook dinner and then mooch around. They are only approached if there’s a major problem. Patients are expected to manage situations first.
After tea and cakes it’s free time. I often went into Kingston or Richmond. They’re easy to get to. You may be on dinner duty for that day in which case you have to stay in the hospital and cook for everyone.
6 PM
Dinner. This is cooked by patients and a staff member and again everyone is expected to attend. The evening meal is decided by that dinner group for that night and then it is that group’s responsibility to request the ingredients they need in the menu book. This is picked up by the person who has the grocery job, forgotten what it’s called, and ordered at the Monday morning ‘food’ meeting.
After dinner it’s free time. People watch TV/play scrabble/playstation/videos/socialise/go out to the cinema, theatre etc. We often went to the library, which is very close, to use the internet. When not in specific groups everyone from all the units mixes together. I spent time with the adults and down on the family unit which is in a more modern building attached to the old building.
8 PM Handover
Unit chairs handover to the night staff what is happening on their units and who needs support. Unit chairs also let everyone know who is acting as night contacts. Night contacts have a variety of roles. If someone feels they particularly need support then they can ask somebody else, on any unit, to be their night contact. If they then have any problems they go to their night contact for help. Their night contact might sit with them or talk to them or whatever. People can also be night contact for parents on the family unit. Some parents who are there for child protection issues are not allowed to do things e.g. breastfeed, feed, bath their children on their own and so they then ask a night contact to supervise them. This can be a big undertaking. If a baby wakes up at 3 am and wants to be fed, you get woken up and you go down to the family unit and supervise. You wouldn’t do this kind of job until after your first assessment but it is a great way of meeting people and mixing with the family unit. Through supervising parents on the family unit I made a very good friend. You may then also work with families at other times; supervise meals, play, babysit so parents can have a break. Some parents there are not allowed to be left alone at any time with their children so a rota of people to supervise will be drawn up.
On a Sunday evening at 9 pm everyone meets on the family unit to chat and just catch up as everyone is returning from weekend leave. It’s really informal and people leave when they want.
You can go to bed when you want, within reason, but you’re not expected to be around after midnight. There is a wake-in member of staff who walks around the unit, checking on stuff and the member of staff on duty sleeps-in. If there’s a major problem they can be woken up but patients are expected to manage things first.
Other Stuff:
You have two individual therapy sessions a week. You wait in reception and the therapist comes and collects you and takes you to the therapy rooms. The session can be at any time; most therapists start at 8 am, and may cross over with another group etc. If that’s the case you are expected to rejoin the group after your session is finished, even if it’s the major Tuesday morning community meeting! That was a nightmare. Sessions last 50 minutes and are a really important part of treatment. If you don’t turn up a nurse on your unit will come and look for you and make sure you then go.
Community meetings happen three times a week and everyone goes. Tuesdays, visitors and everyone comes, absolutely everyone, where on the other days senior nurses may have other meetings etc and may not. Community meetings are where practical and emotional issues that affect the whole community are discussed. They are chaired by the community chairs who volunteer themselves for the job and are then voted in by the community. Community chairs do the post for three months. It is a fantastic job; I did it! You run the community meetings, which can be so challenging when everyone wants to talk at once and the agenda’s really long and there’s so much to discuss and panic, panic, panic! Anyone can put anything on the community chair agenda and people approach the community chairs and ask you to add something to the agenda. As a community chair you either hold it in your brain or go and write it in the community diary quick! As a community chair you get a lot of support. You meet with the senior nurse on a Friday morning and talk about how you are and your week’s been and how things on the unit have affected you. It’s great if your fellow chair has a baby that gargles and laughs the whole way through! Before each community meeting you meet with a senior nurse and discuss the agenda. I became great mates with my fellow chair; really close. Community chairs are also responsible for managing an emergency within the community, with staff help. We had two in my three months and they were a challenge. We had to call emergency meetings and manage the community etc.
There are several community jobs that you can put yourself forward for. I was the dairy manager which meant I was in charge of the fridge in the kitchen. I was responsible for ordering milk, cheese, butter etc. If you have a role like this you have to go to a grocery meeting on Monday mornings to let the chef and facilities staff know what you need for the week. On Monday morning there is also a general meeting to discuss business issues like food etc which everyone goes to.
You can be asked to take a break from the unit if the staff feels you need it. This may be because you have self-harmed which is not encouraged or because you are not going to your therapy sessions etc. You go home and then come back and have a management meeting where you see the unit consultant psychiatrist or lead nurse and talk about what you can do to move forward. Management meetings can also happen without you being asked to leave, for smaller concerns the staff have.
It can be very emotionally draining. The first week I was there I was just so exhausted but you get used to it. If you get a chance to go, I’d urge you to take it. It is such a unique experience and can be so rewarding. I learnt so much about myself and made some lifelong friends. There are some really tough times but people support each other, generally, and you get through it. Be prepared to become very involved with people; it happens whether you want it to or not. I became very good friends with a young woman and her baby and at one stage she had to go to an appeal at the High Court to see if she was going to be allowed to keep her son. The whole community was on tenterhooks that day, because her and her son were so well loved by everyone. Lots of tears and stuff.
Wow, thank you for sharing your experiences. I know I didn't post this but I was very interested to read about it as it's been mentioned as a possibility to me previously. Thank you <3
Gosh. It sounds so busy. The self harm unit I was in was pretty much run like that and it was so intense.
So you get sent on leave if you self harm? I would imagine all the patients would get to hear about it? If that's the case I'd probably be sent home all the time :(
Thank you for replying =]
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back, everything is different…
you once called your brain a hard drive, well say hello to the virus.
And in answer to your question you can do - but it's not automatic. My friend on the adult unit did but then a friend on the adolescent unit didn't - she had to address it in community meeting instead and have a planning mtg. It really varied. Everyone in the hospital hears about it though yeap. There are no 'secrets'.
That sounds like something I could benefit from but I doubt my parents would agree.
Thanks Saxtothemax.
PM me if you want a PDF copy of the ICD-10or the Mental Health Act 1983/2007. I ALSO HAVE THE DSM-V BOOK and am a pharmacology student.
I have a visual impairment / neurological problems so I need people to type in clear text and no funny fonts. Also excuse any typos, my vision blocks things out.
I have autism and have problems communicating, PMs included.
Just becasue I type well doesn't mean I speak well. I am only part time verbal.
