To believe that psychiatric care in England is much worse than in Scotland?

[dontrunwithscissors]

Background: I have bipolar 2. I'm a university lecturer based in Scotland, where I have very good psychiatric care. I have a brilliant CPN who I see every 2 weeks, or more when poorly. I have a good consultant pychiatrist who I see every 6-8 weeks. I've never had a problem getting a hospital bed and the crisis team is good. When I'm well, things are great----but when I relapse, I can get very suicidal. I've been hospitalised 3 times over the last 15 months or so. I've had fantastic care here in Scotland (& sometimes wonder whether I would still be here without it TBH.)

I have the prospect of a great job at a university in South Yorkshire. I'm excited about it, but worried about leaving the really good psych care I have. From what I can tell, psychiatric care in England is generally poor. People are lucky to have a CPN at all. Hospitals are bursting at the seams. Crisis teams are understaffed and resort to fending people off.

So....AIBU to fear that I will be left without any care in England?

It's great you have such a great team working with you. I think it would be difficult to build that again no matter where you relocate to.

Yanbu. With the number of admissions you have had recently and the importance of very regular care I would be nervous to move.

It's just a job. Your health is much much more important

I know. I'm worried, but my university is in the middle of a financial crisis and I may not have a job in a year. There are very, very few jobs available in academia & there may not be another suitable alternative job available anywhere in the country in the next couple of years. Academic posts in the Humanities are like hen's teeth.

It comes down to stay here with good healthcare, but risk losing my job. DP was made redundant in the summer and is a SAHD because there are no jobs here.

Yes, euphemia, the academic job market is brutal. My university is in a very, very bad financial state--we've been through 5 years of one round of redundancies after another. They've cut support staff down to the bone. Now there are only academics to come after. The chances of something coming up in Scotland is fairly small. I can hang on at my current place. don't think I will lose my job in the coming round of cuts, but another suitable job in a suitable location may not come up again for a long time.

TBH, the only thing that is holding me back from leaving Scotland is my concerns about healthcare. I've tried researching the area. It doesn't seem to be horrific, but there's nothing positive that I can find either.

Sorry for my bad typing above...I meant: I've tried researching the quality of psych care in the prospective city--nothing horrific has come up, but nothing positive either.

When I was actively unwell (also bipolar, but made MUCH worse if I'm ever using a synthetic progesterone-based contraception - the injection makes me cycle so rapidly I'm at the point of sectioning) I had fabulous support from a CPN (every week when ill, every month when not) and Psychiatrist (quarterly, more if necessary), in both the Midlands and SW England.

I have heard of people getting supported well in England, Wales, Scotland and people not being supported at all in those places too. It really does depend on both you/your needs and the different areas/times/what way the wind is blowing. I've had friends who live in the same town as each other, with very similar diagnoses say completely different things about their access to services - one said it was the best ever, the other thought it was useless.

Thanks emwithme. I'm very aware that my excellent CPN could leave and be replaced by someone crap. (I've had a couple of crap ones). That would throw everything up in the air.

I hate having to give this issue any headspace at all. The job is amazing in so many other ways & it would put us back within an hour of both sets of elderly parents. But, quite honestly, my stomach flips at the thought of having to leave this support & start anew.

I couldn't cope with school teaching. It's hard enough teaching 18 year olds.

Will you have family or close friends you could go and stay with if things got bad where you are now?

Only I know someone who accessed treatment in a different part of the country to where they lived because there was more available at their relatives area

Is South Yorkshire Sheffield? I've heard care is good there. Otherwise there have been a lot of cuts in the north west and it can be hard get beds when you need them. Maybe worth contacting a support group local to the area and asking them?

pigeonpoo do you mean if I have family here to return to if I needed care? If so, no, all our family are in Yorkshire.

blue2014. Yes, it's Sheffield. It's good to hear that. I've found that there's a sheffield branch of Mind. I wonder if they could give me an idea of how things are. Many thanks.

I know it's a different issue but Pete Bullimore (expert by experience) used to teach sessions on the psychology course there so he may be contactable via a Google search? I've no personal experience of Sheffield but have heard good things for both mental and physical health care, maybe because of its university?

Good luck with it all