Mental Health Advice - Sectioned But No Treatment
Discussion
I have a very close friend, she's had some major trauma in her life, abusive partners, the death of a child etc and she always had some issues with anxiety resulting in people thinking shes on drugs.
A couple of weeks ago she had another situation which was completely devastating to her, she completely broke down and got so bad social work got a 72 hour hold in a psychiatric hospital to assess her. She was convinced people were trying to kidnap her and she destroyed the flat fibre comms box to avoid "hacking". Shes also blames a lot of things happening on someone who lives in the building which is untrue.
After the initial chat with the doc they lifted the restriction and she was allowed out with someone the next day, although she stated 3 days she only seen 1 dr and had no more interaction apart from with ward staff.
They then let her out to go home and shes been suffering from compete paranoia including seeing things that aren't real, thinking tablets and TVs are exploding and terrified people are watching her.
I contacted the hospital and they said they would look into it, instead and even with all the info the doctor signed her off and put her in with community nurses who again were told but don;t seem to be doing much.
Last night she called me at 4am saying she could see into a portal and her family (who don't talk to her) were watching her and trying to drive her mad, she was also walking round the streets thinking she was being chased.
Shes clearly very much suffering from psychosis yet the Dr in the hospital gave her no meds, or treatments and simply let her back home saying its properly the stress of the argument with the other person that's causing it and she should go to the police.
Does anyone have thoughts on the best way to get her some real help or how to get a better response from current Drs? I know that without intervention she will once again end up in danger and be walking about terrified
A couple of weeks ago she had another situation which was completely devastating to her, she completely broke down and got so bad social work got a 72 hour hold in a psychiatric hospital to assess her. She was convinced people were trying to kidnap her and she destroyed the flat fibre comms box to avoid "hacking". Shes also blames a lot of things happening on someone who lives in the building which is untrue.
After the initial chat with the doc they lifted the restriction and she was allowed out with someone the next day, although she stated 3 days she only seen 1 dr and had no more interaction apart from with ward staff.
They then let her out to go home and shes been suffering from compete paranoia including seeing things that aren't real, thinking tablets and TVs are exploding and terrified people are watching her.
I contacted the hospital and they said they would look into it, instead and even with all the info the doctor signed her off and put her in with community nurses who again were told but don;t seem to be doing much.
Last night she called me at 4am saying she could see into a portal and her family (who don't talk to her) were watching her and trying to drive her mad, she was also walking round the streets thinking she was being chased.
Shes clearly very much suffering from psychosis yet the Dr in the hospital gave her no meds, or treatments and simply let her back home saying its properly the stress of the argument with the other person that's causing it and she should go to the police.
Does anyone have thoughts on the best way to get her some real help or how to get a better response from current Drs? I know that without intervention she will once again end up in danger and be walking about terrified
Awful place for a person to find themselves in and from personal experience, incredibly hard supporting someone going through it too.
Suggest calling 111, option 2 for crisis support. You may also be able to speak to her GP as an advocate - they will be able to explain the process to you as each is a bit different in my experience.
The crisis team will be able to provide greater support than the GP including assessing capacity and risk - based on what you describe, she may well be put on a section again, which is not a bad thing. If you are able to advocate for her, be sure to give as much information to them as you can and be very honest about your concerns for her welfare. The GP and crisis team will be able to work together if medication is required but again, if you feel medication is a hazard to her well-being, tell them that.
Most services only sit a case review once a week, so if you’re seen/admitted on the wrong day, it’s potentially a 6 day wait until anything resembling a treatment plan is created, which is utterly crackers, I know.
Mental health services are woefully underfunded and under resourced so brace yourself for some incredibly frustrating conversations.
I found not trying too hard to understand what my wife was telling me, but to just accept what she was telling me was her truth in that moment and chat about it, really helped us both; partly as if you haven’t experience it, your unlikely to understand anyway. Being able to relay information accurately and in detail is important, as otherwise they make an assessment based on a very short period of time.
What is your friend’s support network like? Is it just you who is able to support her or is there others? It’s an immense responsibility so the more help from people she trusts, the easier it is to manage. In addition, make sure to tell the mental health teams if it’s just you and one or two others and the level of support you can provide - be realistic and if you aren’t sure, say you can’t. They do rely heavily on friends and family, in part due to lack of resources but mainly because they are the people that will notice changes in someone’s behaviours and demeanours, even if subtle, far more quickly and effectively.
Fingers crossed she gets some help soon!! I’ve been where you are more times than I care to remember of the past 10 years - make sure to take care of yourself!
Suggest calling 111, option 2 for crisis support. You may also be able to speak to her GP as an advocate - they will be able to explain the process to you as each is a bit different in my experience.
The crisis team will be able to provide greater support than the GP including assessing capacity and risk - based on what you describe, she may well be put on a section again, which is not a bad thing. If you are able to advocate for her, be sure to give as much information to them as you can and be very honest about your concerns for her welfare. The GP and crisis team will be able to work together if medication is required but again, if you feel medication is a hazard to her well-being, tell them that.
Most services only sit a case review once a week, so if you’re seen/admitted on the wrong day, it’s potentially a 6 day wait until anything resembling a treatment plan is created, which is utterly crackers, I know.
Mental health services are woefully underfunded and under resourced so brace yourself for some incredibly frustrating conversations.
I found not trying too hard to understand what my wife was telling me, but to just accept what she was telling me was her truth in that moment and chat about it, really helped us both; partly as if you haven’t experience it, your unlikely to understand anyway. Being able to relay information accurately and in detail is important, as otherwise they make an assessment based on a very short period of time.
What is your friend’s support network like? Is it just you who is able to support her or is there others? It’s an immense responsibility so the more help from people she trusts, the easier it is to manage. In addition, make sure to tell the mental health teams if it’s just you and one or two others and the level of support you can provide - be realistic and if you aren’t sure, say you can’t. They do rely heavily on friends and family, in part due to lack of resources but mainly because they are the people that will notice changes in someone’s behaviours and demeanours, even if subtle, far more quickly and effectively.
Fingers crossed she gets some help soon!! I’ve been where you are more times than I care to remember of the past 10 years - make sure to take care of yourself!
Could you take her to your nearest A&E? She could then be assessed by the Liaison Psychiatry team there and if they feel the need, they could call a mental health act assessment.
Sounds like she may have already had one and been discharged for follow up in the community but it sounds like she would benefit from a short Inpatient admission.
A&E and then MHA would be the quickest route to getting her seen ASAP.
Waiting for community services is like Waiting for Christmas!
Sounds like she may have already had one and been discharged for follow up in the community but it sounds like she would benefit from a short Inpatient admission.
A&E and then MHA would be the quickest route to getting her seen ASAP.
Waiting for community services is like Waiting for Christmas!
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