to wonder if geriatric and psychiatric patients should be put onto specialist wards

[hardhatdonned]

I'm just watching dispatches and pairing it up with my own experiences of being a hospital in-patient several times I am wondering if IABU to wonder if geratric psych and psychiatric patients in general should NOT be placed on general wards with other non-psych patients? I had the misfortune of being on a mixed ward after two operations mixed in terms of gender and mixed in terms of psychiatric history and age - basically a general surgical ward and whilst recovering from quite serious surgery was witness to bed blocking dementia patients who required quite intensive specialist care from non-surgical wards.

IABU and selfish aren't i. But it really is distressing and upsetting when you're at your most vunerable. The rational side of me says IABU because everyone deserves fair and equal treatment but then part of me is petrified of ever being stuck on a ward with several patients with dementia again terrible isnt it.

Bumpsoon, you forgot sticking a broom up your bum so you can clean the ward while you go :o

'And even those who haven't should still be entitled to recover from surgery without having to put up with certain things that people with dementia can sometimes do!

If your fils dementia is causing him to behave in a way that is distressing to others, surely it would be better for all concerned if he was not put in a situation where he could be upsetting other ill, vulnerable patients.'

Fascinating when listing what was wrong with my fil - bleed to the brain following a fall, and terminal cancer, that the dementia was fastened on. Also the assumption that my dfil's dementia was causing him to behave in a certain way - it didn't, as he couldn't stand up on his own. Loved the phrasing as well, if he was not put in a situation where he could be upsetting others. Just because he has dementia doesn't mean that the others couldn't be upsetting him could it?

SmartyHan - well that was my first ever MN swear word because i am very offended. I try so hard each day to put on a 'normal' front which is a real struggle atm because i am not well.
I would prefer you to just say: people with OR without mental health problems. Alouiseg: health insurance is fine for those without chronic health problems. Re: people with dementia; i feel that too often time is wasted mourning the person they were rather than learning to accept and care for the person they've become.
Sorry that is completely off topic.

I am soooo going to get flamed for this....Oh well

If you don't like how I have written my post. Tough. Yes it might be untactful, yes, you may be offended. Sorry. Just to clarify to some people
I am not talking about people with 'minor' mental health problems; I am talking about people with psychiatric a problem which removes them totally from living a normal typical, average life.

Sorry if I cause offence

So what is a typical, average life? Excepting organic disorders like dementia, people with mental health problems do recover you know, the vast majority are ill for a period and thn either recover or manage their condition well enough to get on with what I think you would call a 'typical, average' life. And as I said before, being mentally ill is something that's going to happen to a quarter of us during our lives.

Not sure about how you would divide major/minor mental health problems. If a patient in a general hospital was unwell enough to be detained under the mental health act they would be constantly attended by staff from the mental health ward they were detained at, this would be a legal requirement. I think this thread is about people who are not detained, so presumably would count as having a 'minor' mental health problem?

No I'm sorry, someone with severe paranoid schizophrenia does not normally "recover". They can be managed, within reason. Sometimes when they are not managed they can physically harm, even kill people.

I agree adventuremouse. Bipolar, certain personality disorders + schizophrenia are hardly minor illnesses but even when becoming unwell you can seem fairly normal at first..it takes a lot to be sectioned. If you are lucky enough you can work and socialise when you aren't ill and no-one would know you have an illness.
It's like diabetes or asthma - you take medication and you or your family monitor your condition. You get to learn the signs of becoming unwell - or your family notice first. Then action can be taken - eg get signed off work, call a crisis team etc.
My point is that for people with serious mental health conditions life is similar to those with other chronic illnesses (eg diabetes, epilepsy, parkinsons). You can lead a fairly normal life with assistance, meds and monitoring.
So we do not deserve any discrimination in hospital yet it happens.
I have seen a girl with borderline personality disorder ignored by the dr and most nurses after surgery because they said (i quote) 'oh no, she's one of those' and were actually nervous of her, yet she was a nice girl who was understandbly getting upset and paranoid because she knew why most of the staff were ignoring her.
If trained professionals can be ignorant and nervous then i do understand people like yourself Smartyhan who don't quite get it either.

People with schizophrenia can recover or be well managed adventuremouse. The majority aren't a risk to others.

To be honest you wouldnt know if the person in the next bed was schizophrenic unless they were having an acute episode ,because they are 'normal' when they are not acute . I have looked after several schizophrenics on a medical ward and not one has caused me any problems , or caused any problems to any other patients ,well except the one who snored like a train !

Adventuremouse ,we have regularly looked after sectioned patients ,without any input from mental health nurses. Wont go into the wheres and whyfors ,but it is doable aslong as the reason they are sectioned isnt that they are a risk to others. And most sections are not about risk to others are they ?

Kallista ,thats awful about the poor girl. I have worked as a nurse for a long time now and believe me the people with recognised /diagnosed mental health problems are far less of an issue ,than those who arnt but believe themselves to be absolutely fine and dandy .