Why are mental health services in the UK so utterly shit?

I have a relative with chronic depression (several attempts to take their own life). A few years ago the service seemed to be working quite well - there was a Crisis team they could call if needed and I think they were permanently on the list of the service.

Of course, that was all disbanded and reorganised and now whenever they have a crisis they have to contact a central hub and there seems to be a constant drive to get them ‘signed off’ the service. Whereas really they would benefit from ongoing preventative monitoring. Not to mention the farcical business of having to beg their GP for an appointment in order to get their psychiatric medication (consultant does not prescribe it) - just what a person with depression is so confident and able to do…🤔

It’s pretty poor.

I agree it's shit. I think so much needs to come before people reach crisis.

Are all the anti Tories here volunteering to pay more tax themselves, or is it just "rich people"?

Came here to say this. The expectations placed on mental health services are part of the reason they are massively over subscribed.
I am sorry to hear of your losses OP, however grief isn't a mental illness which requires treatment. We have become a society that are unable to deal with intense emotions and want quick fixes, sadly these just don't exist.
SOBS are a great organisation that support individuals bereaved by suicide.

Mental health care is even more woeful for teens & children. Camhs are not worth bothering with. In fact they're more about covering their backs rather than providing any useful help. Basically going private is the only option. But in many areas even the private option is now overwhelmed.

I also read that as more people have become mentally unwell, the funding has been stretched more thinly. So those with very serious mental illness are also getting less support.

This. Quality of life is decreasing for many. Our environments make us sick.

We need life to be better. Life is too difficult for too many people.

I dont think there is any good country to be mentally unwell.

Noone seems to have cracked how to treat it properly.

Funding.

If you're lucky enough to speak to a crisis team that don't think your problems can be solved by having a hot bath, then there won't be any beds for you anyway.

If you get a bed, you'll be turfed out in days as some research once said that it can increase risky behaviour by staying in long term, so they can get away with kicking you out without doing any therapy.

If you're super lucky and get referred to the community team, you'll see someone fortnightly, who has a caseload of about 50 people, that they are forced to discharge in certain timeframes or the trust doesn't get paid.

Add to that staff burnout and attitudes...

(Ex RMN)

Because its chronically under funded by the government. I worked on a psych ward for a decade and I was completely burnt out at the end. Lots of staff going on long term sick because of budget cuts, lack of staff and lack of staff support. Crisis management is a very stressful role and in my opinion, there are limits to how long staff can work in such an area due to their own mental health limits. I dont think I could go back to it even if I wanted to for the above reasons. It really took a toll on me.

But not backed up by the facts, there will always be shite people who then deliver poor services, that happens under all Govts, they cannot change human nature.
But generally speaking, nhs services were better.

My experience of mental health services under Labour was so much better to what my children under the Tories are experiencing.

I had PND. Under Labour within days of it being picked up at under post natal services I had a health visitor visiting regularly and very swiftly had access to a support group( with a crèche), individual therapy and medication alongside a referrral for a volunteer who used to drop in and also accompany me to the local children’s centre.

The country is practically bankrupt.

Well it was my experience 🙄

Did you work in mental.health under Labour ?
Because I did and it was crap then too in fact it was under the Labour government that the cuts in the mental health trust I worked in at least started ,there is a lot wrong with mental health services,but it's always been known as the Cinderella service of the NHS.

Not my personal experience or that backed up by the stats.. but Tory supporters will always say "oh worse under Labour" just to defend their appalling record.

I guess next you'll be telling us under Labour there were 8m people on waiting lists? or denying that the Tories doubled the waiting list between 2010 and 2020?

https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/chart-of-the-week-how-has-the-waiting-list-changed-over-the-years

I understand. My point was not that it is perfect. It isn't and in many cases it is totally unfit for purpose. I have a DC who was ideating suicide who was seen by CAHMS once, and after a long wait, and then discharged. His diagnosis of ASD took more than two, very difficult, years. I get it.

However I also see a lot of people on Mumsnet who have 'mental health' who are bemoaning the state of the service. For many of these it is likely that a bit more self care would improve the situation but there is an assumption that therapy should be available on demand for everything. The NHS can't deal with this and shouldn't be expected to. We humans have a duty to take a bit more control where it is relevant.

It's always been crap.,it was still crap.under Labour ,I w was redeployed twice in 12 months due to cuts in 2005 in the mental.health trust I worked for
perhaps ,if the trust's didn't do ridiculous things like refurbishing a ward at the cost of £1000,000 only to close it down less than a year later they would have more money ,this happened several times in the trust I was employed in.

@Whichwhatnow Who made those diagnoses? Would it be possible to be referred back to that team (I imagine the CMHT)? Have you had DBT/emotional coping skills support? It sounds like you could do with that input or at least a “top up” (as well as support for your current situation too). The concern is that, in many areas, IAPT (local CBT/counselling) won’t accept referrals with a BPD diagnosis but your GP/IAPT should be aware of this and refer you back to the CMHT.