The postcode lottery*poss triggers for everything*

[Ranger Fairy]

I've experianced the NHS postcode lottery with full force. Lack of every NHS services possible in Suffolk. Any speaerlist treatment you have to travel miles and miles in other counties, and as for the mental health servcies in the area, there are no words that I can use that describe how bad they are and with HUGE areas of it missing and not its possible to recieve it anywhere else with a suffolk addressess.

I wondered about other peoples experiances in other parts of the UK?
Anything similair?
If its is needed this thread could be a place to moan/rant about this
problem and how unfair/ **** it is.
I'm not sure as I don't know how widespread/big the problem is for people on this site, so if its not needed don't worry.

xxxx

[sherlock holmes]

My CMHT are pretty good.

They dont do things like DBT or really intensive therapy, so I am being referred to a therapeutic community. But so far they have funded all of my various hospital stays.

So if they cant offer something, they always refer me somewhere else.

My keyworkers have been really good with me. At the moment we're working on my anxiety and every week they're supporting me with getting on the train.

[Wonderland.]

I'm sorry that there aren't enough help near you.
Where I live I would say I am very lucky I am inbetween two towns and both have mental health teams and when i got referred I think they put me quite high priority and I saw someone in two weeks so no wait at all really.

x

[one_step_closer]

That sounds very frustrating. I live in quite a small area but our services are very good when you can get them. The waiting lists are usually very long, I think I was waiting for about a year and a half to see a psychologist.

[surprising mystery]

I think what upsets me is that my psychiatrist thought she had been generous in the support she gave me, because the CMHT I was under recieves no funding for personality disorder treatment, and if they were to follow the guidlines, they would never take anyone with a PD on at all.

I have recently been discharged, and I am doing pretty crap right now in my honest opinion, Im struggling a lot. I wont be referred back to the mental health services again, because I know there is no point, and the CMHT wouldnt take me on again.

Its just highly depressing, the teams psychologist said what I needed was somewhere like a TC, but the psychiatrist said I wouldnt get funding for it because Im not unsafe enough to need,, no, qualify under nhs standards for IP.

So thats not dangerous enough (enough meaning that they couldnt legally get away with not treating me) and no funding for OP treatment,,, but not only that, no funding for any support on ANY level.

I am screwed,, thankyou suffolk mental health! Your ****ing awesome.

I REALLY need a hug right now. Turning 18 seems to me to have been the worst thing ever. At least camhs cared.

Oh yes, and well done Ipswich hospital for not documenting a drug allergy, now I have to have an allergy test.. But it can only be done in cambridgeshire because, wonderful suffolk has no drug allergy clinic!

[surprising mystery]

Ive been planning to complain, and maybe someday I will get round to it,, its just it takes so much energy I dont have. And its like me against a bunch of suits with no actual clue what mental illness is like. I feel too alone right now to gather the strength to do it. Doesnt that say enough?

[charliotta]

I grew up in suffolk and had to go to cambridge for the adolescent unit. It was really stressful at the time because even for an urgent referral to the CAMHS psychiatrist my GP had to hassle them every day. It was rubbish when I was referred to Adult Services (at 16) as I had to see the locum psychiatrist every 6+ months and they were different every time. Because I lived in the north-east of Suffolk I was under Norfolk catchment area and to be honest I had a great psychiatrist once I'd been hospitalised 5 times in a year. Now I live in Norfolk properly and it's really rubbish too as my psychiatrist says I have too many different problems to be treated at any one unit and therefore I wouldn't be funded even though I'm still on a section 117.
When I was in the adolescent unit I hated it as I was so far from home, but the nursing assistants said that I would look back to my time there with fond memories in comparison with how awful and badly funded adult units are. I mean, come on, not even any occupational therapy attached to them? That's just tight. I want to stick whoever makes east anglia's funding decisions and stick them in an adult ward in suffolk/norfolk for 6 months and see how they feel. In Norfolk and Suffolk the attitude to mental health is quite punitive and not at all therapeutic.

[surprising mystery]

Yeah, ^ Ive heard and imagine norfolk to be very similar to suffolk, they have no adolescent IP units, and the OP adult care is apparently very scarse. *hugs* I guess you went to the Darwin centre? Cos thats where I went too.

[Ami]

I first went to get help feb 2007, and wasnt actually seen until july/august. When i was at CAMHS the psychatrist after a few month refused to see me anymore, even though i wasnt well. I OD and got refered back to CAMHS but he still refused to see me. Therfore i had no help or anything until i was rather unwell in August 2008, and A & E put me in hospital.

There has been an inquest into why this dr refused to see me even though i wasnt well. I dont know if its because my area is crap or whether he is just an incompetent toss end.

Also, im sposed to be seeing an adult worker, but they havent got enough staff so im still seeing a child worker even though ive been an adult for 6 month x

[rockaroni]

I was switched between Cambridge and Stevenage for ages, but with each new referral, it took about 6 months to get an appointment (this was with CAHMS), and basically, they never offered anything. When I moved to North Hants, I was seen really quickly (at adult services) in Aldershot, was offered DBT, group therapy and all sorts. Brighton are also being really good with referrals and have offered various things. So yeah. Getting away from home was the best thing for getting my mental health sorted.

[Aubergine]

I had brilliant MH care in Norfolk.

Had an OT, CPN, support worker, day hospital etc.

I know someone in Suffolk who's also had brilliant experiences with the CMHT and inpatient treatment.

Guess it just depends where you are.

[Ranger Fairy]

It also depends (well it does in Suffolk) what the 'disorder' that you need help with is.

E.G personality disorders no training or treatment at ALL.

In other words the treatment is too much time and money

[Katiee]

Heyy,
I can understand where you're coming from. My CAMHS are awful... so horrible can't begin to explain how bad they are. I absolutley hate them.

Haha. Hopefully I'm going to be put under a different CAMHS team soon. wooo. x

[Aubergine]

Hmm yeah. Neither of us have been diagnosed with personality disorders - perhaps that's what it is.

Though I do know in Kings Lynn (which is in Norfolk), they had a team that did DBT. That's one of the treatments for personality disorders, isn't it? I never accessed it, but know a couple of people who did and they said it was brilliant (short waiting lists, group and individual therapy).

[Rhuben]

I'm currently in Hull and it's the first place I'm finally getting any sorts of treatment, back when I was in Peterborough they just pushed varying doses of citalopram or amitriptyline on me and sent me back home. Now I'm in Hull and after several attempts on my own life they've been quite swift to intervene. I was seeing a psychologist for a while but it was decided that CBT & DBT do nothing for me so i'm now seeing a Psychiatrist once a week on an in patient ward. Once i've got my firm diagnosis they'll begin treatment, although at the moment they said they will be pushing for an extended in patient stay at one of the priory places because all the NHS beds are full.

The mental health facilities in Hull are pretty good i'd say. In Peterborough... they're practically non existant.

[whirlpools]

in my area there are no specialist services for particular mental health problems.

i have BPD and was fortunate enough to be one of the few people referred to a therapeutic community, which was out-of-area. it took 15 months for the PCT to release funding. most people are not made aware of such opportunities and many people with BPD are left in day hospitals to sit and drink coffee and crochet.

there is no intensive psychotherapy and the psychology waiting list is two years.

recently the voluntary service MIND started a service called the Twilight Project - an out-of-hours service where people with BPD could just go and chill out and talk to a member of staff if they were in crisis. we only had enough money to run it for six months, and despite it being a cheap way to support people with BPD, the PCT have refused to fund it further so the Project will likely have to close down.

however, new NICE guidelines will probably force the PCT's hand so at least some specialist services or access to services in other PCTs will be introduced.

[l'il esky]

the psych team i see seem pretty good and when the cmht people bother to see me they are ok
as you all prob seen im struggling most is keeping my gp cos of stupid "out of area" crap!!!!!!! such a load of bollocks which is SCREWING WITH MY HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! :(

[TheHeroYouHate]

It's awful where I live.
After seeing about 7 different ones, I've found the only good mental heath worker in gosport.

[guiltyinnocence]

i dont know if anyone else has experienced this but i found getting treatment when i was a teenager much easier
like from 15-19 the waiting lists were short, referrals straight away, weekly or twice weekly appointments
but then i had to leave the 16-19 service last year when i turned 19 and due to some issues i failed to turn up to my last few sessions and hence wasnt referred straight to adult services and so have had to go through my gp, and 6 months down the line my gp is still my only support

what im basically saying is it seems to me that with adult services you have to fight to get the help, whereas you dont in camhs and 16-19 service

though in a way it has some positives cus it really has made me try to help myself more

hope some of that made sense
xx

[what_the?]

I just wanted to agree with fire2burn. My team in Hull are amazing. Although CAMHS were a bit *****, and didn't give me any real support, adult services have been amazing, I had no wait to see a psychologist and only had to wait 2 weeks to see a psychiatrist. I really feel that they listen to me, and they have a grest liason team that did a load of work with me when I was having problems with my diabetes, they even helped me explain stuff to the diabetes consultant when stuff was really bad.

I'm in Birmingham for uni, and I'd have to say that, while I've had no real waits (apart from the fact that after my initial appointment they said they'd send me another and just didn't so my GP had to kick them into gear) I've found that the staff don't really listen and are very quick to put your problems down to "a lack of money and too much alcohol"