I'm a mental health social worker/care coordinator, AMA!

[Maskedsocialworker]

I work in a CMHT and am a care coordinator and AMHP.

Ask me anything

[MoodyMumOfOne]

Sorry but haven't we had enough of these now

[Aridane]

What is an AMHP?

[Maskedsocialworker]

Approved mental health professional, so I assess people under the mental health act (“section” people)

[YesYesIKnow]

What impact are you seeing on clients MH of the current state of NHS MH funding? Do you think more people are 'slipping through the net'?
In our area, over the last few years, many people have been 'signed off' by Psychiatrists and lost CPN support. It must be harder to coordinate care with increasingly less resources.
Thank god for AOT's and crisis teams I say. Still, I think it's a scary time to have a MH issue.
Also interested in what you think of the recent trend in psychiatry to re-diagnose people with PD?

[Frith1975]

Why are CAMHS so shockingly inept?

[Maskedsocialworker]

@yesyesiknow Yes its definitely having a negative impact, it's all about meeting targets and paperwork, and far less time spent actually working with patients .

I actually used to work on an AOT but we were disbanded due to cuts, and merged with the CMHT.

I have seen a lot of people diagnosed with PD, more so in recent times than 10 years ago. I'm not sure why this is, but when inpatient units are full and no beds available, inpatients with behavioural difficulties not resulting from psychosis are the first to be discharged.

@frith1975 I don't know, I have been waiting over 12 months for my son's initial assessment with them!

[x2boys]

i used to be a mental health nurse, AMPH,s were traditionally ASW ,s( approved social workers) my understanding was that any mental health professionals could do the training to become an AMPH ,are you finding that it is still social workers doing the training or are other disciplines now doing the training?

[Grumpbum]

Asking for a worried friend. If she informed her GP she is bulimic and self harms what would be the likely course of action? She’s concerned as she has 3 very well looked after children and supportive Husband

[Maskedsocialworker]

@x2boys I have only ever know on one OT do the training, never any CPN's.

My trust offers to fund training for all roles, but it's slim pickings that agree to do it as the pay is so terrible, and it's such a stressful role to do.

@grumpbum she would either be signposted to eating disorder services or possibly refered to the CMHT for assessment. However, the threshold to be accepted by the CMHT Is very high, and it may be that she would be refered on for psychology/ED support via primary care. This would not warrant intervention or referal to children's services from what you have said

[x2boys]

i can quite imagine Op plus terrible hours

[YesYesIKnow]

Thanks for the answer, sorry to hear your AOT has disbanded. It was a life changer for our family. Very sad to hear
Just really feel for you working with such limited resources, your work can often be a matter of life and death and I really don't know how you do it in the current climate.
All the best to you

[x2boys]

the trust I worked for closed down two acute wards in each sector (it's a huge mental health trust) this clearly had a massive impact on community staff and a lot of patients that really needed in patient care had to placed out of area , its a difficult job .

[Grumpbum]

Thanks I’ll tell her she’s was avoiding asking for help because of the children

[howardmoonseyebrow]

Hello Masked 🙂 I’m a CPN & CC. Don’t envy you being an AMHP . The area where I work very rarely has any beds & as you say people with a SMI are usually the first to be discharged from hospital as they are seen as less risky 😐

[howardmoonseyebrow]

@yesyes re: patients receiving a PD diagnosis. I think it depends on the locality, the area I work in does diagnose patients with PD but our neighbouring health board rarely does. They do diagnose patients with bipolar type ll though , similar symptoms...

[YesYesIKnow]

howard, yes it's happening where I am too. It seems to also depend of the individual psychiatrist IMO. Most of them have been swapping BP2 diagnoses for BPD here for a good few years now, yet patients seeing different psychiatrists would have diagnoses swapped back!
Apart from the fact that there's a lot of people who find being diagnosed with BPD insulting, what troubles me about it is that people were routinely taken off meds and told that DBT was the only suitable treatment for them, yet DBT wasn't available in our area yet ( it is now but the demand is higher than the resources available)
As I said, I'm very concerned about the lack of resources in what is a 'life or death' field of work...

[Stompythedinosaur]

How messy does a house need to be before it is an issue the social services? Assuming kids have regular meals and are clean and tidy for school, and otherwise doing well.

[Maskedsocialworker]

@stompythedinosaur it would have to be pretty bad to warrant concern. Think no food in cupboards, no beds/bedding, no gas and electricity, filthy conditions, animal faeces lying around, unsafe environment etc.

[LoveProsecco]

What are your favourite and least favourite aspects of your role? Also how easy do you find it to switch off when you leave?

[Maskedsocialworker]

@loveprosecco favourite parts are actually when I have the time to spend directly helping clients with their social/health needs, instead of having to do flying visits just to "check in", without actually providing any kind of help.

Worst is the paperwork, all tied in with targets and the pressure to maintain them. We end up in the office neglecting client care, in order to keep targets on track due to pressure from management.

The saddest part of the job is seeing really young clients, and knowing how their illness is invariably going to prevent them from having any quality of life. Also seeing patients that I really care about when they are really mentally unwell, and feeling helpless to be able to make them better. I genuinely care about the people that I work with, and severe and enduring mental illness is such a cruel disease, the things some people have to experience are so unfair

[Maskedsocialworker]

I don't really switch off, I often worry about the people I work with

[LoveProsecco]

Thank you for your honesty throughout the thread. It's very interesting & thank goodness for people like you who care. What support (if any) is available to stop it becoming over-whelming?

[LornaMumsnet]

We're just moving this over to AMA.