Has anyone used a private mental health hospital.

[Arisbottle]

My sister has struggled for a long time with her mental health , much of it linked to her childhood .

I am thinking of offering to pay for private treatment and think that a hospital admission may help . She has been in an NHS hospital but it did not help in the long term and once again she seems to find herself at the end of a long waiting list.

I do not want to offer if it is beyond our our means .

I know of somebody who paid for 3 weeks private inpatient treatment for bipolar depression and it cost 16K!!

They weren't much better at the end of the 3 weeks as obviously it takes a lot longer than that to get better but they couldn't afford to stay any longer.

Have some experience of Cardinal clinic in Windsor with a relative
Very nice setting, great food and interested staff - Dr Atkins was lovely
Far from the nhs. In fact as far as you can get
Cost a lot though

My sister has started talking about having electro convulsive therapy and having done some research it is not as barbaric as I thought .

She has struggled for decades but I have a lump sum I am willing to use if it helps .

Thanks muscat

Sorry mycat

How much is a lot, if you don't mind me asking?

I have had treatment at one of the priory clinics

Excellent care, but very very expensive

The cardinal clinic website has fees, thanks for that .

Think they did ect back then though not relevant to us in the end. You're amazing to be considering doing this

Not really, I have had advantages and luck that my siblings have not had and this is a chance to pay back.

I think NHS hospitals are mainly places of safety rather than recovery. It is hard to get in a good NHS hospital and resources are limited. Some NHS hospitals have good therapy program's rather than places for sectioned patients etc.... Such as the Maudsley in London etc that I have heard good things of, where live as part of a therapeutic community for 6 months or so. Has your sister tried such approaches?

I will definitely discuss that with her , thanks . She does have children and so I am not sure she would want to take six months away from home .

She also could not afford six months of work, although it looks as if the cost of a private hospital admission will cost me about six months of her wages. However whilst she might let me pay her hospital fees, she might feel uncomfortable with me paying her living expenses for that long - even if the amount of money is the same .

Can she access NHS services in London if she does not live there.

She probably can't access London NHS services if she does not live in London unless there is a very particular argument that she needs specialist services. Be very careful about the idea of a long admission - admissions anywhere, NHS or private have side effects and risks, including further destabilisation of people's mental health. In general community treatments are best if at all possible. Our local health authority stopped funding out of area specialist private inpatient treatments for certain conditions because the outcomes were so poor.

Perhaps she could ask for a second opinion as a first step?

In terms of cost I think most private hospitals are in the region of £350-£400 a day btw.

I think we are all hoping to avoid a long admission . When I met her psychiatrist we were discussing mainly outpatient therapies , even ect could be done on an outpatient basis.

Thanks Oodel.

I know that the Priory was about £500 pd
It is an excellent group of hospitals

Thanks Ronald. I have asked for further information from the priory group.

I think the Maudsley is one of the few hospitals that will take patients from elsewhere. Remember in the NhS now there is choice over where have treatment if the oerson's CCG will fund treatment. I imagine long waiting lists. In the NHS treatment therapeutically tends to be lengthy, mainly I think due to the way the system is set up when inpatient therapeutically.

I'd still be very careful about any length admission - outpt treatments are almost always the better way forward unless the safety issues are so great there is no option. I'd also be a bit wary about a plan involving ECT where there is a large component relating to childhood issues.

Hoops, a CCG will only fund for the maudsley if there is a very good reason why that is the only place that can provide the treatment. Nhs inpatient services definitely try for short admissions because of the reasons I've mentioned before.

Why is that Oodel ?

If you're asking why be careful of any length admission then then I guess it's about being very clear on what you are aiming to achieve: What are the outcomes you are looking for? How will they be achieved? How will they be measured and how will you know they've been achieved? For each aim - why is inpatient treatment necessary, what are the reasons why inpatient care would be better than outpatient care? How will you be able to make a judgement if the treatments offered are not working? How will the transition from hospital back to normal life again take place at the end of the admission? what might be the difficulties in that? You mention your sisters difficulties are long standing. Long standing problems usually don't respond well or permenantly to quick solutions. You may find there is a temptation for the admission to extend itself if these questions haven't been adequately considered beforehand. Inpatient admissions by their nature take people away from their lives and so only so much about how to deal with life can be learnt there.

If you're asking about ECT then ECT works best for depression with strong 'biological' features such as slowed movements, early morning waking, weight loss etc I guess the obvious answer is it can't make her come to terms with psychological issues from her childhood. Whatever biological treatments are suggested they are unlikely to be the only answer. Therapy of the right sort might help though again there are risks depending on the situation. Also practical, pragmatic approaches focused on capability are almost always part of a successful recovery from ANY long term psychiatric issue but particularly where there is a strong component related to childhood experiences. Inpatient treatment can all too easily end up being the very antithesis of that approach so there needs to be a 'way out' of hospital towards improved health and functioning.

I am of course generalising based on very limited information which is one of the reasons I'd suggest a second opinion if your sister isn't happy with the care she's currently receiving.

Thanks for that advice that is useful. I have already spoken to her psychiatrist and today have seen her Community mental health nurse and GP.

There is a strong physical element to her depression as well as childhood issues. The psychiatrist also suggested other things which I will not say on here to protect my sister's privacy. But it had been made clear that medication is only going to get her so far.

It is very difficult to deal with because - and this is difficult to say- my sister has a very low IQ which is why I am nervous of any ECT suggestions because I am not sure that she fully understands the implications of the treatment .

She has spent varying amounts of time in psychiatric hospitals - the longest period being about 5 months and nothing long term has been achieved, so I totally understand what you are saying about inpatient treatment.

The GP is happy to make a referral for private treatment , he suggested psychotherapy and something called dialectical behaviour therapy, both of which could happen as an outpatient .

She does have quite a difficult life at home and part of me wonders if a stay in a private hospital might just give her the space she needs away from her children, husband and all that entails .

I have also considered asking her to live with us for a while , but we have a house full of our own children, she does however enjoy staying with us.