Voluntary Admission to Mental Health Hospital

[minmooch]

My dad today has been admitted voluntarily to a mental health hospital.

He was diagnosed vas dem only September last year but has been spiralling fast.

Extreme confusion the las5 few weeks, very aggressive wit( me (no uti we check often), many visits to police station ( he's looking for his parents who died years ago, his wife who died 3 years ago), carrying knives, wanting to be rehomed, accusing my brother and I of all sorts. This all culminated in him assaulting me last week.

Mental health crisis team and adult social services all been involved the last 6 weeks.

Today after yet another visit to the police station he has now been admitted to a mental health unit on a voluntary basis. They have said to my brother and I that if he tries to leave then they will detain him and section him formally.

Anyone had experiences with this? Are they likely to keep him in for a day, week, month? I'm nervous if he is released then he will come after me as he is taking all his ange4 and frustration out on me. He lives alone but only lives a few minutes walk from me. Will those in charge take my fear of his actions in to consideration?

Oh dear, poor you and dad. You can go and see the staff and explain your concerns to them. I doubt they will let him go home until he has been formally assessed and a care plan and treatment plan put in place, they may be looking to his future care and thinking about him either going to a dementia carehome or a dementia mental health unit. Do either your brother or you have power of attorney. The staff will know about his threatening behaviour and they will carry out a risk assessment. They have told you that they will section him if he attempts to ,leave which means he will be in hospital for a few weeks at least. Are you in the u.k. and will you be visiting him, it's a terrible illness, sending you all hugs.

Thank you.

Yes both my brother and I have poa for both health and welfare and property and finances.

We are in the U.K.

If there are any worries/problems I would push for sectioning - I had to do this with my DC some years ago. Horrible, but safer for all concerned.

Just so sorry to hear that you have yet another thing to bear in your life, dear Min.

I'm not here often but I do think of you often.

Looking westwards & sending you much love & strength.

Do speak to his social worker, funding is available for people who are sectioned for treatment, I hope he is ok.

If he has been detained under s.2 of the metal health act then the likelihood is that he will be detained under that for 28 days for the purposes of assessment.

After that 28 days if he still requires hospital treatment he will then be detained under section 3 of the mental health act, which isn't classed as a voluntary 'sectioning'. Because of the involuntary nature of it any care he receives after he leaves hospital will be funded by the state rather than out of his finances. This will be referred to in meetings as S.117 aftercare funding.

If after the 28 days it is felt he no longer needs to be in hospital for treatment/assessment but also wouldn't manage at home and doesn't have mental capacity to make this decision himself then the most likely scenario is there will be a meeting to decide on a finding a residential placement for him.

It's rare, but not impossible in the situation you have described that an elderly person does return home. It doesn't happen very often detaining an elderly person under the MHA is usually an absolute last resort, and usually means the options to support them at home have been exhausted.

For the time being you are just going to have to let them do their assessments and see what happens.

I know a number of people who have been in mental health units and the quality varies hugely - keep an eye on the care. However, in many cases it is a good option - they should assess his medication and get the dosage right and generally sort out support and where he would be best living. Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't be pushed into a care placement that you are not happy with