Doctor refusing to treat me what are my rights

[MysteryMoose]

Hi I'm not really sure what info to put here but I need help with my legal rights.

Basically my mental health collapsed in September. I was very depressed. GP referred to Mental health. Mental health bounced me back to GP. Went to GP. They put me on Citalopram and referred back to MH. Within 2 weeks I was having a manic episode and have been struggling with mixed mania (feeling like life is pointless but all the energy of mania) ever since. Community MH refused to treat. Left me in that state for 6 weeks. They bounced me to perinatal who bounced me back to MH as my daughter was approaching age 1.
Now SS are involved. MH still refusing to give me the "proper" amount of antipsychotics, they have me on a joke dose (5mg olanzapine) that isn't controlling the issue, and they are refusing to give me my ADHD medication because I'm breastfeeding.

I have a letter from the perinatal psychiatrist saying that the "benefit outweighs the risk" and recommending that I start ADHD meds back in October but MH said "that's just a recommendation".

I have never been a self harmer but I've been suicidally manic since October and have now attempted to end it 7 times. Crisis team bounced back to CMH, CMH still refusing to take responsibility or actually do anything.

I have racked up £12,000 worth of debt from the mania, had arguments in the street with my husband (I have never had an argument in my life before, I'm usually very quiet), and harmed myself.

Legally, if they are refusing to treat, surely they have to refer me to someone who will, right? Article 3 of the human rights act says I can't be subject to inhuman or degrading treatment including witholding medication and other neglect, but how does that translate to actually getting someone to do something about this? I am trying to stop breastfeeding but as the perinatal psychiatrist noted, without that ADHD medication I just can't organise feeding times.

Additionally, they have said that if I do come back to them and say I've stopped breastfeeding, they want a signed letter from my husband saying I really have, and they have also said they will want to test my prolactin levels (despite the fact these are unlikely to go back to normal for at least 6 months to 1 year even if I wasn't on olanzapine). I have capacity. I asked if a man had ADHD and bipolar would they ask a man's wife to sign a letter like this and they just blustered. It was humiliating and infantilizing as all fuck.

I'd like to add that according to Lactmed, the medication itself isn't contraindicated for breastfeeding and serum levels are undetectable: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501310/
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501056/

The group I referenced does indeed support people to continue breastfeeding, if that's what they want. But it also is a place where people have experience of complex issues around breastfeeding e.g. legal issues, medicines and breastfeeding, and a place for a support and advice for ending breastfeeding.

Just wanted to say well done for continuing trying and pushing through this sounds like so much to handle and really tough. Community mental health teams especially seem so poorly resourced at the moment, and MH services in general that they are essentially non existent. Sadly I don't think the legal side is an option in this kind of situation and not somewhere to invest your energy.

@Soontobe60 yes I read the OP’s posts. BF isn’t just about nutrition for the child, it’s also about comfort and routine, so sometimes it’s not as simple as going cold turkey. The OP should prioritise their MH for their own well-being, plus the well-being of their child. They are clearly not happy with their current GP and need help, so seeking an alternative seems like a potential solution, while trying to switch to bottles, could help both them and their child to adjust to get the OP the meds they need.

Basically coming at it from all angles with action points, rather than criticisms of the OP who is clearly dealing with something very difficult.