That doctors shouldn't refuse to treat self harm ? TW

[Riggsisadino]

I have struggled with self harm for 10 years know in many ways I am doing a lot better. I am finally getting some therapy and the frequency has massively reduced. I am going through a very rough time at the moment and I have been using it as a coping strategy I am working as hard as I can and engaging as much as possible but it's so hard to stop a 10 year habit. It happened about a month ago and the resulting injury had to be fixed by my local plastics department a hospital over. It took them a while to do. They said they had better things to do and wouldn't be prioritising mental people. But they did fix it. It has happened a few days ago but the plastics department have said they won't fix it as they've done it before. I may be able to live with this but it has gone through the muscle and resulting structures and I can't move my leg or weight bare it is also very open and has become very infected. I have a weakened immune system so am worried about this. I have a temperature and high heart rate. Nurses are struggling to dress it due to the size. I have had doctors and nurses escalate this but they aren't budging. They are going to try and get my consultant psychiatrist to get in contact so it's from a consultant. I have tried to get in contact with pals but no luck so far I just don't know what to do. I am worried about losing my leg or getting sepsis or never being able to walk again. I understand I did this to my self and I deeply regret it. I really wish I didn't do it. But as my doctor and therapist said it's a long road.
I just don't know what to do

Im sorry you feel this is happening to you in this way, but I think there is probably a clinical reason. There is absolutely no way they would refuse to close a wound because it was self inflicted/ due to self harming/ because they were too busy. Obviously without seeing the wound I can’t comment but sometimes wounds aren’t able to be sewn back together and they need to be left to heal via secondary intention. If you’re very concerned about it being septic, go back to a&e.

Why aren't they treating it. I have a self harm patient who comes in weekly for dressings. She once wasn't seen for a month and it escalated horrifically leading to an injury so terrible that even I a veteran of 40 years in the NHS was shocked to the core. Sorry I cant say what happened on here. They should atheist be providing enhanced psychiatric care.

I have had 6 doctors ring plastics including a 1/2 hour argument. They have told me that is the reason. The doctors are not happy and this is why it has been escalated to my consultant. There exact words from there consultant is 'we have already fixed him once'. They might not be able to stitch it up and as I said I can live with that. Although juniors have said it needs a skin graft. Even if they don't stictch it up it needs a clean out and the muscle, ligaments and tendons fixed so I can walk.

I can totally see why they would prioritise other patients over a patient with multiple self inflicted injuries going back over years, particularly when NHS funding is so tight and staff levels are so low. But I dont how such a severe injury won't be treated at all. I doubt very much they would refuse treatment if the wound is as bad and as infected as you say. Are you carastrophising the situation?

No defiantly not catastrophising this is what my doctors and my local hospital have said. This is only the second time I've needed it fixed by specialists. I can understand there frustration.

I am shocked that you have been treated in this way.
I thought the NHS ethos and the NICE guidelines stated care for self harm injuries should be non- judgmental.

Doctors should treat all illnesses and injuries, regardless of how they were acquired.

Based on what you were told, the logical conclusion is that doctors will refuse to treat people on the basis that they smoke, are unfit, are obese etc, because these people have inflicted their illnesses themselves.

Good luck and I hope you get the treatment you need.

@Snuffy28 this is what one of the doctors said when they were talking to plastics. Under your logic you wouldn't treat smokers whose wounds wouldn't heal as well. Or driving instanced when the person is under the influence but they do. Apparently the doctor didn't have much to say to that but still said they weren't gonna do anything

Is t this the same wound as before?
You cut yourself, they repaired it, you opened up the repair, and now it's in bad shape and you have some signs of an infection (temp and hr)?
Is that correct?
Because it sounds like it's a clinical reason why they can't repair it again, but the doctor looking after you doesn't understand their reason and just wants it fixed. So the doctor looking after you is explaining that as far as they're concerned it's because it's self inflicted?
I have never heard of any doctor or nurse ever using the word "mental patient" it isn't the 1950s so that's on you.

Hi OP, can you get yourself to your nearest urgent assessment unit ?

It's about 1/6 through the old scar but not through the old wound. It's pretty much new. It's not just one doctor on my side though it's 6 plus my local hospital. As I said if they can't stitch it up they can't stitch it up however much I would like them to. It's the fact of treating the muscle/ligaments/tendons so I get feeling/movement in my leg again.

And if you don't think helath professionals use the right language when it comes to bad mental health. Then you've not been around it enough. Nearly every other patient I speak to has had a bad experience. Particularly when it comes to non mental health staff in a general hospital setting. Even senior mental health staff have said they have a lot of problems sending patients to the nearest general hospital because of the stigma and language. They do treat people differently. Even if your there for a non mental health reason.

Sorry @Riggsisadino it’s just not going to be true that they are refusing to treat you on the grounds of your mental health/ because you self harmed. It’s illegal and wouldn’t stand up. I’m really sorry you feel this way and hope you get the help you need. If you’re unable to move it as you say you really need to go to a&e for urgent attention.

They said they had better things to do and wouldn't be prioritising mental people

i very much doubt this

They can’t discriminate against you. Keep on at PALS.

Why? A wound is a wound. I feel quite ashamed that mental health treatment is so poor in this country that people end up in this state

I've been to my local a&e twice actually both times they have tried to Move me to the hospital with a plastics department and were refused. Atkeast ask for an appotment but thy was refused. They weren't happy and atleast tried to get me admitted vier ortho at my local hospital and this was refused as it's a plastic issue due to me not being able to move. If you don't think people discriminate because of mental health then you haven't seen it. As an earlier comment shows it does happen. Comments from these doctors have been witnessed by other people and have been complained about. This isn't just coming from me other people are witnessing it. I have my doctors on the phone through the night and atleast twice through the day liasing with them. They are not happy and after this has been sorted (if it does) they will be complaining to there higher ups. They have backed up what the plastic department are saying.

Hi OP. We've moved this thread out of AIBU and over to the Mental health section. We also wanted to share some information from Mind with you - it has practical tips on what you can do when you feel like this and where to get urgent help. Hopefully there might be something helpful -
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/self-harm/helping-yourself-now

Sue them. That’s appalling. You are obviously not well in terms of mental health if you self harmed in this way.

Have you spoken to PALS OP? I would seriously consider making an enquiry that you then rapidly convert to a complaint and/or complaining to your MP.

This sounds like a time sensitive issue that needs resolving ASAP or risks leaving you permanently disabled.

Thank you for the replies. I've tried phoning pals I haven't been able to get through to them yet. I've spoken to them before and they are very good. It's a large hospital so I will just keep trying

I am sorry, but I do think there is more to this than we are hearing here. You are getting treatment, as you have mentioned the six or so doctors, nurses and so on, so you are not being left without any treatment. I find it very unlikely that one of these doctors was told that they wouldn't treat you because they'd treated you previously; or that the doctor would then report that comment to you. It may be that you have misunderstood what you were told. You mention that you had the same treatment only weeks ago. Plastic surgery is not without many risks, and in any form of surgery doctors would be loath to do surgeries so close together, especially in the same area - that previous treatment won't have even healed yet. Repeatedly treating the same area, and especially if there is a chance that you will do the same thing again soon and require yet more treatment (and there is a good chance - you've done it twice in a few weeks already) is a huge risk. They have to exercise clinical judgement on many levels, and not just on what you want, or what your doctors want – if your own doctors were specialists in this area then they’d be able to do it themselves and not have to send you elsewhere.

I do very much hope that your worst fears don’t come about. But whilst I really do sympathise with your struggles with your mental health and the effort it takes to stop self-harming, you also cannot expect medical services to be able to “just fix” everything that you do to yourself. That is an unrealistic expectation. And I don’t say that because I think they don’t want to – I say it because the damage you are doing can’t simply be fixed by waving a magic wand. And I know this because, apart from anything else, I had a close friend who seriously and repeatedly harmed herself in this way, and over the years she became more and ill as the consequences of her self-harm damaged her body to a degree that couldn’t be fixed. We are not cars – when we damage a part we can’t just fix it or replace it. Like you she couldn’t stop herself. I doubt you need to be told why I am talking about her in the past tense. I do hope that isn’t also your story, but you do need to be clear that

I do very mu

I’m sorry you feel like you are being passed over but there is a massive shortage of plastic surgeons and surgery time. I had a hole open in my chest due to an injury caused by chemo drugs leaking into my tissues and I was going to have to wait over 6 months to be seen as an urgent case. In fact they didn’t want to accept my referral at all until I made a complaint.

I know women who have been waiting years for post cancer treatment reconstruction because of the shortage too.

I've had surgeries very close together before I had 10 surgeries in 10 months and 4 within 2 weeks so it's not to do with that. All non mental health related. The last surgery they did wasn't the same they don't need to fix anything they just sewed it up to prevent infection. They didn't need to fix tendons/ligaments. If they can't be fixed they can't be fixed and I will understand that's something I need to live with. But they haven't even had a proper look to see if they can. Orthopaedics, junior doctors, district nurses, TVN and a&e consultants have all said they can be fixed. It's coming from the consultant at plastics about the non treatment. I am getting treatment as in 2 dressings a day because of the wound. Each time they look the wound has got worse. I will end up getting sepsis at some point. This wound will not heal conservatively at the moment because of dead/infected tissue. Thy atleast needs dealing with to let the wound heal.
I understand one day the damage may be to much and that's why I am working hard to stop. Before this I had 6 month breaks without anything. So it's not a extremely common occurrence compared to average self harm. Although the severity is extreme and I understand that. The doctors have made the plastics doctors comments known. As they are honest and know I can find out often as I often request my notes and it is written within my notes. My local plastics department does not have a good reputation for treating those with mental health due to there manger. This has come from patients, staff within that hospital, mental health staff and other doctors. I used to live near a different one and there attitude was miles away. They were lovely. I will probably get sepsis and die from this injury if left and I know that. You don't think of the damage when self harming and this is the danger. As I said I am working my hardest at the moment. But if there's anything I can do of course I am going to do that. I do scare myself.

The posters saying "this would never happen" clearly have zero personal experience.

Actually talk to people with experience of the MH industry, attitudes like this are rampant. It's very very common for hospital staff to refuse to treat or be derogatory towards self-harm injuries. Spend 5 minutes on a self harm forum or a MH support forum, you'll see so many horror stories of patients being ill treated due to having mental illness.