I am amazed, well probably more annoyed than amazed, at the inequality in the Mental Health care in this country.

[twinsetandpearls]

I am thousands of pounds in debt because of the poor mental health provison where lived before. As some mumsnetters know I had a huge breakdown a while backl and have had to pay for private treatment including a private admission. I was on a huge waiting list for counselling and gave up in the end.

I have just been to see the doctor in my new surgery and mentioned this to him and it has been made very clear to me that whatever counselling I needed I could have it for free, within reason of course and it would be made a priority case.

As he was evaluating my case we hovered over whether I would need an admission or some very intensive input and again that was available. Now it may be that the facilities down here are so poor that I may have had tp go private again but I get the feeling not.

The doctor here took real time with me rather than rushing me in and out and was really shocked at the treatment I was getting before.

One of the things that has been stressing me out is our rather dire finances which are a direct cause of the fact I have needed treatment that I could not get on the NHS.

Rant over and off for a cup of tea.

I dont get the money because dp has to care for me, I do have very very severe depression to the extent that there are times when I am not capable of doing anything, even getting out of bed in the morning , getting dressed or caring for dd. I have been in hospital for months at a time. Previously the money has been used for respite childcare, counselling, help at home.

I had help from my CPN filling in the forms, it is up for renewal at the moment and tbh dont think it will be renewed.

I agree completely that it is absolutely appalling that a lottery exists for all sorts of health problems. I do think also that mental health services vary so massively.

It seems a very unfortunate by-product of the drive to give regions/localities greater autonomy over service provision. Which is a great idea on paper, but in practice means that there is an element of luck in whether the health authority is doing a good job and has priorities that tally exactly with the individual needs of the patients.

and of course, it depends entirely on the diagnosis....

What do you mean naswm?

different diagnosise get different prioroties in different areas

I see I did not realise that.

sorry thaty is a personal bug bear of mine, I shouldnt bring it up here!

Are you still managing to work?

There are some seriously good, forward-thinking people running the mental health services in Dorset. Although I also had very good care when I lived in SW London (but that was rather a long time ago, so my info on that is no current).

No naswm bring up what you like I find it very interesting.

I am managing to work but only because dp does everything else in the house down to laying out my clothes in the morning. At the weekends I am doing well if I manage to walk dd int town which is at the bottom of our road or meet a friend. Weekends usually consist of me sleeping for most of the day and doing little else.

I am also protected under the DDA so my employer has to bear in mind my workload. I have to have regular meetings with my line manager.

I had excellent care when I lived in London which was about 7 years ago, I honestly think I would be in better health now if had remained in London tbh

I think there are som fab services in London. I suppose my own 'issues' are due to my own diagnosis which doesnt tick the right boxes which means I am denied services. NOT that I woudl want to take them from other people, not at all, but having worked for the NHS for many years I have been let down severely by not being 'elgible' for treatment from teh very service I worked so hard for for so long.

Oh Twinset, it's just so crap isn't it?

I can fuction (just) at work, but the weekends are rubbish too, sometimes I wish I could go to work at weekends just because I seem to feel better there. ( I think it is being occupied)

Yes it never ceases to amaze dp how I hold it together at work but I think work holds me together. My doctor in Lancashire wanted to sign me off work and I knew that would end in disaster.

not been on for a couple of days - how are things twinset?

I am OK naswm, very very tired and have told them at work that I will need a bit of extra support for a week or so.

can you rest this weekend? catch up with your energy levels? {{{{{}}}}}

I am resting tonight but this weekend I have coursework to moderate and year 10 exams to mark.

twinset I work in London as a CPN and my catchment area is extremely busy. I have a caseload of 35, many of whom cannot be discharged - and they keep coming. I often feel overwhelmed with the magnitude of the work and the demands on my time (often not the clients but rather the endless meetings, paperwork, duplication of documentation, letters, benefits applications........ ). I am glad you are getting better care now. I try to do my best for each client on my caseload but often feel guilty that I do not have time to be as thorough as I would like. Sometimes I go in at the weekend to catch up, but given that my colleagues and I often work whilst we eat lunch (and we are not paid for the half hour lunch break), I feel resentful about working at the weekend. A lot of mental health trusts recruit service users in a bid to improve the service user experience (also to teach student nurses), don't know if that is something you might be interested in doing in the future.........though often it feels like the PC approach rather than a solution to the problem.

I was not meaning to criticise workers in the NHS, my sister is a nurse and as a teacher myself I know that public sector workers have to make the best of the situation we find ourselves in.

I actually got fantastic care when I lived in London and had an wonderful CPN.

I teach and am very happy doing that and am too soft to work in mental health/

Try to take it as easy as you can twinset

ladylush - you sound very dedicated and your clients are very lucky to have you.

Sorry twinset - I didn't mean to imply you were criticising the profession. I didn't think that at all. Actually, as an insider I often feel quite angry that we do not provide the service we should. So I was agreeing with you - if anything.

Nas - thanks but I think dedication should be a pre-requisite for my work (likewise teaching etc). I got quite jaded in my last job and that's when I applied for other jobs. Not good to be a jaded nurse cos ultimately it's the patients who suffer.