Hospital not allowing visiting at the weekend

[cheerypip]

A close family member is a long stay inpatient in psychiatric hospital. He has just been moved to a new ward and I have been informed that they don't usually allow visits at the weekend.

It's a 5 hour round trip to visit and I work full time, so weekends are all I have.

I thought family contact was supposed to be an important part of mental health recovery. AIBU?

All three hospitals my sister was in we had to book visits and we also had a couple cancelled if she wasn’t well enough.

Why would I care what you do?

refer back to your first few posts on this thread. Clearly… you did

@SummerDays2020 quite the drip feed there, I'm a mental health nurse and thought I'd mention it 10 posts later

Do you mind me asking if this was during COVID as wards had to do that during that time. Some do anyway, but most do not require visits to be booked, ime.

5 years before covid

Mental health wards can have people under section or informal patients - not under section but agreeing voluntarily to be there

There are different rules for sectioned patients and informal patients. Informal patients have many more rights, especially as far as leave and can discharge themselves.

Sectioned patients can be prescribed different kinds of leave by the doctor. The prescription says where/for how long/who with if the risk is deemed low enough.

These things are all dependent on what level of secure the ward is.

The reason that there will be no visiting policy at weekends will undoubtedly be for staffing reasons.

Drip feed?! This isn't my post!! Why did I need to say I was a nurse? Some strange posters on here today. Can't believe you called me touchy 😂

@SummerDays2020 me and a few others think you're touchy, does that resonate with you? You don't seem to be thinking in a joined up manner?

Quite odd!

Of course @bestmoment ....... as luck would have it!

oh i’m an expert

didn’t i mention? i’m a psychiatrist. I’m actually on shift atm at a closed psychiatric ward.

Sorry didn’t mention earlier 😂

What ignorance is that? I'm a mental health nurse, I know exactly how it works. However there's plenty of ignorance on this thread. We took out patients on a boat trip the other day. Some of them were sectioned! Does that suprise you then?

A friend of mine was sectioned, I used to be able to take her out. We used to go for a wander around the local town or go for lunch somewhere. She wasn’t allowed out for the first four weeks but after that it wasn’t a problem.

Extensive social worker involvement when children were younger sadly.

I would contact the ward to find out if there is a reason for the policy of no weekend visits as it’s restrictive for those working during the week and maybe see if there is anything they can do to help you given the distance

Which would point to a section 2, which last 28 days.

sorry wrong thread

Would you mind letting us know your qualifications and experience? You think patients don't get leave? We just lock them up and throw away the key? Not any more we don't! Sectioned patients are out in the community you would clearly be horrified to learn!

but ring any bells?

sorry again! phone buggered

It wasn’t.