Question about mental hostipal / signing into mental hospital

thefires

has anyone on here ever being in a mental hostipal ,?? I was recommended by my doc and I am terrified of going into one.
Someone told me it's not like that anymore and there more like hotels than anything ??

Has anyone had any experience or share some thoughts ??

uck51js9zml2yt

The days of St Itas and Grangegorman are gone.

Beaumont have a facility where patients are treated. From talking to someone who was there, patients have their own room and there are group activities and counseling.

If you go in voluntarily, you can leave of your own free will.

IlmoNT4

St.Pats is a really nice place. You can have your own room. Lots of people check into places like St.Pats for a rest.
You can leave whenever you want....why not ask for a tour and to meet some of the staff before you make up your mind.

There are doctors, councilors and lots of experts to help you, along with some really good programs that teach you life skills. Mostly its a safe and stable environment to get better in...

blatantrereg

I've visited people in different ones. They vary very widely in terms of how pleasant they are. One of them was like a nice hotel; others were not. The most pleasant one was not more effective than the least pleasant in terms of making people better.

The simplest thing would be to avoid preconceptions and view it as a hospital stay, which is what it is. You don't expect to enjoy stays in hospital, but there is no need to fear them, and it is important to go if you need to go.

You are more likely to get better if you follow your doctor's advice. If you don't then perhaps your condition will worsen and you will end up just needing a longer stay in a psychiatric hospital, as well as experiencing other consequences of your illness.

blatantrereg

The thing about private psychiatric hospitals is that they are expensive if you don't have insurance. €1000 per night, for example.
They also don't offer any benefit in terms of making you better over their public counterparts.
I didn't consider the treatment a family member received in one to be ideal. Pandering to people is not always the best thing for them.

CaoimheSquee

I was in St John of God for 6 weeks and it completely changed my life for the better.
It was a very strange and sometimes upsetting and unsettling experience, but if you really want to get better and keep the head down then do it. It is hard though.

kunst nugget

loulou2009 wrote: »

St.Pats is a really nice place. You can have your own room. Lots of people check into places like St.Pats for a rest.

That's something I've heard some people say before and it's a load of bs if you ask me. St. Pat's is a fantastic facility but it's not a health spa. You're not going to in there for 'a rest', that's extraordinarily condescending imo, you're going in there to get help with and to tackle issues that have been debilitating to your mental health.

JuliusCaesar

Most mental health wards are now in general hospitals.

They are not there for 'a rest', they are generally for people who need the kind of 24 hour care that can't be provided in the community or in Day Hospitals.

There will be Occupational Therapy, there will be one-to-one sessions with nurses, OTs, Social Workers, psychiatrists. There may be group therapy.

There is nothing to fear. The job of staff is to help people feel safe, and then to start the recovery process.

blatantrereg

I've visited people frequently in several.
One was like a hotel. Most are like hospitals.It's best to think of it just as a hospital. Avoid building too many preconceptions beyond that. It is possible that it won't be the most enjoyable environment ever any more than any other hospital, but there's no need to be afraid. It's somewhere to go for a fairly short time to get better.

[This was a response on a different thread that was merged]

thefires

I would be very grateful for the advice of fellow boards.ie users.

A family member is in a very bad place right now, depression is taking over and this is going on for years. He is frightened of going to a mental hostipal

Has anyone any experience of signing into a mental hoatipal , I was told you can just arrive and Sign a form ??? Or do u have to be referred my your GP??

He might be in a homeless situation as well

I'd appreciate any help received,

Regards.

dudara

OP - I've merged your threads together, as they are on a related topic.

dudara

Toots

thefires wrote: »

I would be very grateful for the advice of fellow boards.ie users.

A family member is in a very bad place right now, depression is taking over and this is going on for years. He is frightened of going to a mental hostipal

Has anyone any experience of signing into a mental hoatipal , I was told you can just arrive and Sign a form ??? Or do u have to be referred my your GP??

He might be in a homeless situation as well

I'd appreciate any help received,

Regards.

A lot of it depends first of all on whereabouts in the country you are. As JuliusCaesar pointed out, a lot of "mental hospitals" are now a psychiatric ward in a main hospital, as opposed to a separate hospital altogether. There are also private psychiatric hospitals.

You can self-refer to some private psychiatric hospitals. However, it's not simply a case of arriving on the doorstep. You'll need to phone them first, and they will advise you on what you need to do next. On arrival you'll be assessed by a doctor, and then they may or may not decide to admit you. Depending on the facility, they may be short on beds, so beds will be assigned on a needs basis. If you are admitted as a private patient, you'd need to make very sure that your health insurance will cover your stay, otherwise you could be looking at paying upwards of €1000 per night. A lot of policies will cover inpatient treatment at a psychiatric hospital for "x" number of nights, just double check before you head in.

You can be referred by your GP also. The process is roughly the same as the above. Usually if you're referred by your GP, you'll go into a public hospital (ie general hospital) as a public patient, although AFAIK you can request that they refer you to a private facility. Similarly to a private hospital, beds are assigned on a needs-basis. The doctors who assess you may find that it would be more beneficial for you to be treated as an outpatient, or in a day hospital.

I've been in the day hospital of a psychiatric hospital. Basically my GP referred me down, and later that day I got a phone call from a psychiatrist to arrange for me to come down and meet them the next day. When I went down I met with the psychiatrist and we spoke for about 2 hours (it didn't feel like that long) then he spoke to my husband for about an hour. After that I began in the day hospital.

In my case you came in at 10am and went home at around 3:30. The day was broken up into several sessions. There was group therapy every day, which was run by psychiatric nurses. Then there was also art therapy, drama therapy, sessions with occupational therapists and social workers (they help you with a whole load of stuff like housing, applying for benefits if applicable, organising assistance you might need day to day, etc) and there was also yoga, and a guest speaker once per week (from somewhere relevant to mental health). You'd see your psychiatrist once a week, and they'd also be liaising with the nurses/therapists, etc about how you were doing.

In my own experience, the hospital did the world of good. I went in feeling suicidal, and when I came out I felt so much better; not cured completely, but definitely in a hugely better mental state. I'm not going to lie and say it was a walk in the park - the first day was certainly a bit daunting because it was so new, but everyone else in there was in the same boat, and where I was, there was a good sense of camaraderie between everyone. There were some people who were very distressed and not in a good place, and some people did end up going to the hospital as inpatients during their stay, but that was done with their agreement, it wasn't involuntary.

FWIW, my advice would be to go for it. Unless the doctors feel that you are a risk to yourself or others, you don't have to stay there, but give it a chance - a couple of days at least. I'd say the best thing you can do now is go to your GP and ask them to refer you. Your GP will also be able to tell you more about what to expect there. Best of luck, and I hope you find the help you need.

thefires

Toots wrote: »

<Mod Snip> No need to quote full post.

Problem is I have no health insurance !!! I had Layla healthcare for4 years and I might be homeless very scared about this I might be Hereford a couple of months , and I have no family

BeatNikDub

Go to your GP as soon as possible thefires, they will recommend what to do.
There are public beds on these wards and also in the private hospitals but can be a waiting list.
I wish you the very best of luck xxx

Big Bag of Chips

loulou2009 wrote: »

St.Pats is a really nice place. You can have your own room. Lots of people check into places like St.Pats for a rest.

St. Pats has a waiting list. It is a psychiatric hospital that treats psychiatric patients. You have to be referred by your GP. You can't just stroll into reception and ask for a tour and book in "for a rest". You can't request your own room. Depending on why you are admitted you will be put in an open bay where you can be observed by the Nurses at the Nurses' Station for the first while, and then once you've settled you could be transferred to a single room. It is also very expensive if you don't have health insurance.

A psychiatric hospital is still a hospital. You will see your doctor when they do their rounds. During the day you might be put on some programmes depending on your treatment. There will be a lot of sitting around watching telly, or reading a book. It's what happens in all hospitals!

Your first stop should be your GP. They will advise you what/where is best for you.

Toots

thefires wrote: »

Problem is I have no health insurance !!! I had Layla healthcare for4 years and I might be homeless very scared about this I might be Hereford a couple of months , and I have no family

You can still go to a psychiatric ward through the public health system. As has already been said, there can often be a waiting list on beds, so priority is given to patients who need the beds most. Unfortunately potentially becoming homeless is unlikely to bump you up the list. You really need to go to your GP. Do you mind if I ask what part of the country you live in?