"NHS shouldn't really be giving therapy"

[AgainstTheGlock]

This was what was told to me this morning by yet another locum when I went in (encouraged by practice nurse) to ONCE AGAIN ask for help - be it medication or therapy.

Apply it to any other ailment:
NHS don't really do mending of fractures
NHS don't really do obstetrics

But walk in with your head in 1000 pieces and you're told there's nothing can be done.

Why won't anyone help? I'm utterly fucking broken. They keep asking "why don't you ask for help?" and my answer is always "because you don't fucking do anything when I do".

[Marchate]

That is shocking. You really have to speak to another doctor. Or tell the practice nurse what happened & ask her for advice

[msrisotto]

What rubbish! I am sorry you're been treated by dinosaurs.

[AnxiousMunchkin]

What an awful attitude for a GP to have. If you feel able to I'd say put a complaint in to the practice manager about them.

Does your area IAPT accept self referrals? I have accessed therapy directly myself, without needing to involve the GP, although I do see them about medication.

[lavenderdoilly]

Really shocking. So sorry you're having a tough time. Total rubbish as pp has said. Speak to practice manager. Hope you don't have to battle too hard for the care you deserve.

[lavenderdoilly]

Can you find someone to advocate for you. I know from personal experience that going into battle is hard when your defences are down.

[BaronessEllaSaturday]

My area works on a self referral system so they actually get those who really want to engage. Could you look at contacting them direct?

[AgainstTheGlock]

He reluctantly wrote a letter referring me back to the psych team (who discharged me after I rolled up in an ambulance...). Wouldn't prescribe meds. I'm trying other avenues to get help.

Alas no other GP, just a series of locums at a rural practice - not even sure they'd have a practice manager.

They tell me off for necking my stash of diazepam and self-medicating with booze - but won't fucking step in and help. :(

"Diazepam is addictive. Oh, no shit. Killing yourself doesn't do your long-term health much good either".

[lavenderdoilly]

Please contact the samaritans. Poor you. You need better support.

[hefzi]

What absolute nonsense - and an absolute nerve! I strongly recommend googling IAPT + your area, and filling in the form for an assessment - there's a horrendous waiting list, but the person I spoke to on the 'phone in December did me more good in half an hour than the reams of therapeutic thingies I've had before, NHS or private.

I'm sorry you've had such a shit GP experience: I have found the support and help you get varies massively across the country, and is hugely dependent on your GP - my current surgery (which can be a little chaotic, but is so much better even so than anywhere else I've been) is generally really supportive (although I was told that I just have to keep trying to find the right counsellor, and that I was giving up to easily - I just bared my teeth at that: after thousands of pounds and tens of hours, and numerous therapists madder than I am, I don't think I caved easily enough ) and my GP was horrified when he realised that I hadn't ever been referred to a psychiatrist before. But I live in a very deprived and urban area - which, paradoxically, seems to be much better provided for than other areas: my parents live in a wealthy but rural area, and one of the partners is the former head of MH services for the region - but provision is just terrible, and their budgets are so out of control that it's virtually impossible to get meds prescribed.

Trouble is - you don't have a lot of control when you live rurally, over where you can register (in their case, neighbouring surgeries are refusing to accept patients from the other surgery's area, because so many have tried to move) as you can in a city - and when you feel like shite, the last thing you want to do is have the effort and stress of finding a new doctor. Hopefully, the referral he's given will help - have you got a CPN or a psych or anyone whose name you know that you've seen before that you can namedrop/ask for? Also, can you try top give MIND a ring? They can be really helpful, and can tell you how which sort of buzzwords can be helpful in terms of getting access to treatment etc, as well as advising in general about things.

Sorry it's tough at the moment