Discharged from mental health team after one visit for not being depressed enough!

[Kells81]

Hi everyone

I have severe agoraphobia-I haven't been further than a few miles from my home for over a year and was completely housebound until very recently, I also get bad panic attacks when I'm at home. I often spend weeks at a time not being able to get out of bed as my anxiety is so bad. My gp referred me to the mental health team as I was getting worse and worse.

I saw a nurse 2 weeks after being refered and she spent 35 mins with me asking me questions about my condition. At the end she said I should ring up and request some more CBT ( I have already had 12 sessions on the nhs) and that she would arrange for a consultant psychiatrist to talk to me about medication options.

I assumed I would have regular contact with a nurse and the psychiatrist but I've been told today I'm being discharged from their service as I'm not depressed enough! The nurse has never asked me about self harm or suicidal thoughts so I'm not sure how they can even make that decision and what's the point of speaking to someone about medication once-surely to get it right I would need further support?

I know that we are always being told that the cure to anxiety is within ourselves but I expected some additional support after being refered to the mental health team. I guess they think it's just ok now for me to be left to rot in my bed and that having no life at all is perfectly ok-thanks nhs for nothing!

[AuntieMoosie]

Well it doesn't sound like a very satisfactory way to leave things.

The thing is, I think the mental health teams are under sooo much pressure and also having to stick to such a tight budget, means that they can't always give the help and support that they want too.

The have an obligation of care to those who are really "mentally ill" and by that I mean anyone who suffers with psychosis of any sort, problem is, there are just too many patients and just not enough staff to go around, which inevitably means that those who they don't consider to by severely "mentally ill" get kind of left behind.

It's really not their fault though, they can only work within their staffing levels and budgets, so it's the government that we all need to be shouting at.

It would be ideal, I think, if they could have some sort of tier system in place, so that there would be 2 mental health teams, one for the not so ill and one for the very ill..........now, whether the government would fund such a system is extremely doubtful :mad:

Anyway, having explained that, I would advise that you contact your GP and let them know of the situation and make it clear that you still feel that you need lots more help and support and see what they may be able to do hun, it's not a case of the mental health team not deeming you important, it's just that's the system that they have to work within hun.

Please let us know how you get on hun :hugs:

[ElizabethJane]

I'm really sorry this has happened to you. Pleas try to go back to your GP and explain that you are not well enough to be discharged and were actually hoping for some more support. If you can write down what you want to say or if you feel able take a friend/family member with you who can speak on your behalf so much the better. Best wishes I hope things improve for you. EJ.

[Kells81]

Thank you both for replying.

I understand that there isn't enough money so it isn't the mental health teams fault but I just feel so sad. They are basically saying that unless I try and kill myself or something like that then there is nothing more they can do for me. I'm basically stuck between being too bad to be able to help myself but maybe slightly too strong to be able to do anything drastic.

The idea that they can't do anything else to help me is completely heart breaking, my anxiety is ruining my parents life as well as my own-I haven't found the guts yet to tell my parents I'm being discharged from the mental health team, they are going to be gutted as they thought I would be able to get some extra help now.

I will speak to my gp and see what he says, I expect it will just be similar to what I was told today though.

[WillyB]

Hi Kelly, I really hope your GP is more understanding and you get re-referred. Please try your best to tell him/her exactly what you are going through and that being discharged from the mental health team was unfair as you were not given the chance or were not able to really express yourself and your problems.

Please let us know how you get on

[cazzy]

Kells , i can relate to this , i feel exactly the same as you , brushed aside and Auntie Moosie sounds so right ...
they discharged me on Monday from the Mental Health Team , he said he dont need to see me anymore as if any tablets he was going to give me , i would become dependant on them , but he was happily to prescribe valium to me for 4 years , then bang , the Goverment has slashed cuts ....he said to me unless im hospotilsed he would see me more often and then told me i had to go down the non medical route ...
did you pyschiatrist tell you about primary care and secondary care ??
im confused about this , think il post a thread ....

[Rennie1989]

I highly suggest you speak to someone in the CMHT or your doctor, explain what's happened and ask for a re-referral.

[Kells81]

Thanks for the replies.

Cazzy-they didn't explain anything to me really so I'm afraid I can't help with the primary/secondary care issue but I think things like CBT come under primary care as you are able to refer yourself-that's what they have told me to do. I hope you get the care you are looking for though.

I feel slightly less upset today after a good nights sleep but still feeling as though there is nothing more anyone can do for me which is very scary.

[cazzy]

Kells - im having alot of support of a support worker , who then referred me to a consellar and also a peer mentor ....it wasnt until i handed myself into the mental health crisis team , that i couldnt longer cope and they give me 2 numbers to ring , i finally rung them and i been recieving support from TEDS as over prescribed doctored valium addict , that im recieving help ....,can you ring the crisis team and ask for any numbers that could be a help to you for your agrophobia ...