shocking treatment by my local community mental health team

[frankie]

I was doing really well up until about six months ago when my lovely indian consultant left for another post ......i first heard of it not from the cmht but by someone at my local mind centre grrrrrr

anyway my new doctor saw me within about three weeks and immediately told me she wasnt a consultant and didnt know how long she would be there .....so much for continuity of care eh

then she went on to argue with me that the low level of lithium my previous consultant was prescribing ....for anger issues ....would probably not be doing me any goosd so I should consider coming off it ....after about five minutes discussion I thought frankie trust this lady and agreed to a slow taper off the drug

she said to me because of the serious power of lithium she would see me in six weeks when we could alos discuss my ocd .....I know I have it ...its of the hoarding and compulsive shopping form and was just getting round to being diagnosed when my previous consultant left

anyway six weeks pass, ten weeks pass...no appointment .....so I wrote this doctor a letter saying I have taperedd myself off lithium myself and could we please meet up to discuss ocd ....I said I was on a good drug for it ...fluoxetine , had been to cbt therapy and rather than be a burden on the nhs and all the community nurses felt I could manage my condition with 6 monthly appointments with her or another psychiatrist

I heard nothing , got increasingly anxious and one friday left a message on the mental health team ansaphone asking what was going on , could someome please assess me for ocd !!

anyway on the monday I get a call from one of the nurses saying she had just read my letter ......a letter not meant for her and sent at at least four weeks previously ......anyway I agreed for her and one of her co workers to come to my flat and see the nature of my hoarding and compulsive shopping ......forty shower gels , loads of aftershave , eighty heavy rock t shirts , thirty cands of tuna etc and went om to explain that an expert on the subject dr fred penzel had written articles om ocd and this form of hoarding was very much a part of ocd ......the nurses kept interrupting me as I was showing them around the flat , which made me anxious and angry but eventually they agreed I had a problem and would make sure the psychiatrist would get the letter .......I said what do you mean it was meant for her and sent weeks ago , what the hell is going on ? as they left the younger cpn said she would cancel the lithium ...which was still arriving with my weekly fluoxetine ......and blow me down four weeks later lithium is still being delivered !! talk about incompetence !!!! so I have gone from being fairly stable in my mental health to unwell again .......the thing that made me laugh was one of the nurses at the end asked me what I wanted out of the team .....I said well you clearly have not read the letter that your co worker has in her hand as it outlines exactly what I feel I need , dear me what a hopeless bunch .......I am going to give it another couple of weeks and then I am going to go to my local mind centre and draft a letter .......who is my care co ordinator / who is my psychiatrist / what the hell is going on ..........its making me ill

[Guest Stu.]

Complain to PALS, its the nhs complaints department.

[frankie]

Thank you my friend

[Guest Stu.]

No problem, I hope they help you out.

[frankie]

They apologised !!

Called me in for a routine appt and bent over backwards to say they had made mistakes

I don't think they will be messing me around again