Now I can’t speak for other psychiatric hospitals but I can speak about the experiences I’ve had with my local psychiatric hospital. Not as a patient, but as a parent of a young man, now 33, who suffers from Bi-Polar / schizophrenia and has been sectioned THREE times in the last six years, and each time they’ve released him back into society before he’s been ready and with ‘promised’ support, but in reality, very little-to-no support.
When questioned about the – so-called-support – you get excuses all the time, like “we’re under-staffed” or…. “We couldn’t get him to answer the door or phone” …. Hello!! …. We’re talking about a Manic depressive with Bi-Polar / Schizophrenia here … What on Earth do they expect?
His last Sectioning was just over two years ago as he’d been taking his medication via monthly injections which kept him tired but generally stable. In the summer of 2017 he ‘thought’ he didn’t need the medication (and it’s uncomfortable side effects) so he stopped collecting the prescriptions and going to the local psychiatric hospital to get it administered for several months. Did they question WHY? Or raise an alarm with Me (his father) that he’d stopped taking his medication? NO!
So when over the Xmas period he realised he was going into a really deep depression he went voluntarily to ‘ask’ them to admit him for his own safety and potentially others, as he’s been suicidal and potentially violent several times before. Their response was to send him away with sleeping tablets, recommending he get a good night’s sleep. Again, no follow-up support which was ‘promised’ as a condition of his release two years earlier.
Fast-forward a month and he’s gone from totally depressed into a full-blown Mania where he now thinks he’s a top-notch Builder/Property developer/ General Businessman earning a small fortune every month. (NOT!!)
Going round talking to other business-men/women to get them to invest in his businesses which don’t exist except in his ‘own’ mind.
Moving on another week and he’s now chief gangster in the area who thinks there are people out there ‘owing’ him money and he’s going to ‘sort’ them and make them pay. Although this is all in his head, he does believe it …. and the Professionals?? … They’ve told him he’s now stable and should really try to get some sleep…..
I know, you really couldn’t make it up could you?
He’s recently been cautioned by the police because he was threatening to ‘shoot’ somebody between the eyes. He doesn’t have a gun but told Police he could get one in 24 hours. Now because he is an out-patient of our local psychiatric hospital they took the matter no further. He now thinks he’s immune to prosecution and that no matter ‘what!’ he does, he won’t go to prison. This is a very serious incident waiting to happen and ALL because the Lunatics running the Asylum – AKA; local psychiatric hospital, are too lazy, too pre-occupied, or just not competent to be working in a ‘secure’ psychiatric hospital.
I’ve tried many times to get my views across via the phone and I’m shut-down every time with the most condescending responses you could ever imagine. Would I go up there to confront them? Probably not, as I’m pretty sure I’d be arrested (or Sectioned myself) because if there’s one thing I cannot stand it’s INCOMPETENCE on a GRAND SCALE!
A couple of weeks ago the local paper ran a story about another young man who BEGGED them for help – (Just like MY son has done several times lately when he has his periods of mental clarity) but our local psychiatric hospital gave him None! … He took his own life and the family are narurally not happy and have gone to the press with the story. Will anything change? Not very likely, and with this Tory Austerity closing placements and support these situations will only become ‘the norm’.
Sadly, cases of Bi-Polar / schizophrenia are on the increase because of the desperation felt by the young in society who see no future for themselves, get involved in drugs, drink and gambling to try and make their world a more satisfying place to live. (Yes, I know that many do these things for pure recreation)
BUT! Tory Austerity isn’t just about the LACK of Money, it generates lack of money by usurping it OUT of the economy and into the hands of criminals, breweries, casino owners and Bookmakers to name just a few. People like Peter Hitchens proclaim that there’s No-Such-Thing as Addiction, that we ALL have choices and those who ‘claim’ to be addicts are just wasters.
Because local psychiatric hospitals DO NOT! seem to have the number of professionals who can actually ‘recognise’ the potential DANGERS of inaction, the situation escalates so much out-of-control that they can ONLY act once the situation has got SO serious that the Police (who have MORE than enough to deal with) get involved. Then ‘everyone’ loses.
You ‘really’ couldn’t make it up.
I think the real question is; “Why are there So Many Psychologists”?
If you ask any ‘Lost Soul’ these days, drug addicts, homeless, alcoholics etc, etc, they’ll almost ALL say “I want to go to college/university to study Psychology”. They have this idea drummed into them by ALL of the Left-Wing Social Workers/Care Workers/General Do-Gooders who ‘Just want to make a difference’. Well, they’ve succeeded. Well Done!
Everywhere now has a GLUT! of under-qualified/under-educated NVQ standard Psychologists who – the moment they find work (because the Mental-Health system is SO run-Down they’ll accept ‘any’ and ‘every’ qualification under the sun to fill the void) they become Over-Whelmed by it because their “Qualification” is not worth the paper it’s written on and the extensive ‘practical’ training just hasn’t been done, leaving these poor ‘hopefuls’ abandoned to Sink-Or-Swim in a tank full of SHARKS!
If you think ‘The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum’ you’d be Right!
“If You Tolerate This – Then – Your Children ‘Will’ Be Next”
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