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HSE Mental Health service

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Have ever had to use the HSE Mental Health service. How did you find the service?

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[Deleted User]

xLisaBx wrote: »

If I call my GP in the morning, I'll be waiting a week at an absolute minimum for an appointment. I'm actually not entitled to repeat prescriptions (like many others), because I need antibiotics and steroids every time I fall ill. And if they are not taken within a few days, I will most likely be hospitalised.

That is a long time to see your gp. Would you be willing to see whichever doctor becomes available the quickest?

Health issues are not a competition. Both physiological and mental health needs require an awful lot of input. I don't believe campaigns have any impact on the actual services being offered.

If I find myself in a psychological crisis tonight the only thing I can do is present at a&e. If I find myself experiencing physical symptoms tonight the only thing I can do is present at a&e.

[Deleted User]

xLisaBx wrote: »

Back down the thread I told Persepoly that I have availed of mental health services. The reasons are outlined too.

But help is available, I'm not sure where you are mistaken here? Pieta House, Lifeline, GP, Referrals, company counsellors and A&E.

Pieta House and Employee Assistance Schemes will only offer six sessions. Now it might be a little more in Pieta. For many that's simply not enough. It can take up to two months for someone presenting to actually open themselves up a little.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm afraid I don't quite understand this.
Say for example I needed to see my doctor. I would ring in the morning asking for an appointment. Regarding medication then you order your script in time before they run out. You make an appointment with your go in time so as you have enough meds.

If I rang my GP in the am, I'd be lucky to get an appointment before Wednesday.
I spent most of may being in and out of hospital with a serious disorder that went untreated until it finally blew up last month. I had fluid leaking from my brain into my nose and they told me it was a sinus infection!! I was no better after two weeks of anti biotics and went back and was told it was acid reflux!!
Two days later I was in hospital, and upon discharge I was told I'd have an emergency appt with a consultant in less than two weeks. I got an appt in the post for end of August! My dr referred my results onto another hospital in Dublin and they had me in within 6 days, and am finally being looked after.

It's the entire health service that's an absolute shambles, but we can't blame mentally ill patients seeking help either, they've every right to decent healthcare. It's just lacking right across the board.

Shint0

xLisaBx wrote: »

But help is available, I'm not sure where you are mistaken here? Pieta House, Lifeline, GP, Referrals, company counsellors and A&E.

I'm referring to the nature and the quality of that so-called 'help' and the attitudes of some of the medical profession within those services which many users of mental health services have enountered. They don't always act in a patient's best interest.

xLisaBx

[Deleted User] wrote: »

That is a long time to see your gp. Would you be willing to see whichever doctor becomes available the quickest?

Health issues are not a competition. Both physiological and mental health needs require an awful lot of input. I don't believe campaigns have any impact on the actual services being offered.

If I find myself in a psychological crisis tonight the only thing I can do is present at a&e. If I find myself experiencing physical symptoms tonight the only thing I can do is present at a&e.

Where I'm living, my GP is probably the quickest to get an appointment with :pac:

I absolutely agree that both are equally important, don't get me wrong. But we have lots of focus on mental health, I rarely see focus on physical illnesses (bar cancers and certain heart diseases). If I wasn't studying Biomedical Science, I probably would never have heard of half the diseases I write about. Yet, without a shadow of a doubt, I would know a lot about mental illnesses.

sunbeam

Last week the Psychiatric Nurses Association and the RCSI launched a report detailing how cutbacks have impaired the implementation of the now ten year old 'A Vision For Change' mental health strategy.(key points here) They found that only 38 percent of respondents indicated that their adult community mental health teams were fully staffed.

The report is pretty damning to say the least and well worth reading in full, especially the comments from psychiatric nurses who took place in the focus group.

xLisaBx

Shint0 wrote: »

I'm referring to the nature and the quality of that so-called 'help' and the attitudes of some of the medical profession within those services which many users of mental health services have enountered. They don't always act in a patient's best interest.

I have heard many good reviews about Pieta. A quick Google search shows an abundance of free or cheap counselling options in Cork. So when the 6 from Pieta are over, people can go elsewhere to continue treatment.

Shint0

xLisaBx wrote: »

I have heard many good reviews about Pieta. A quick Google search shows an abundance of free or cheap counselling options in Cork. So when the 6 from Pieta are over, people can go elsewhere to continue treatment.

I'm sorry but again you are focusing on suicide and self-harm. Not all people with mental health issues commit suicide or engage in self-harmimg behaviour as I said earlier not everybody who commits suicide has a mental health issue. The highest number of complaints made to the Medical Council are against psychiatrists. That's very telling.

r93kaey5p2izun

I think it's true that the whole health service is at breaking point and that no matter what your illness there can be issues getting access to services. But as someone who suffers from a couple of chronic physical illnesses requiring ongoing and occasional acute care, I still think the mental health service is in a significantly worse state. I don't think it's even comparable how bad things area.

Particularly when it comes to critical care and actual life or death situations. I think in the majority of cases you are likely to receive decent care when a life threatening physical illness occurs. Unfortunately I don't think that's true in the case of mental illness. And in the case of physical illness, when there are failings in the care provided there are highly publicised and well funded investigations and reports, there are campaigns to ensure individuals receive the treatment they need if it is not being provided. Where are the investigations into all the failures of mental health care that have led to suicide, murder and murder suicide? It's just dismissed as "oh he was depressed" or "oh he was psychotic, he refused treatment, what more could we do?".

howyanow

I would have had a mixed review of my experience of being an out patient in their care.
Negatives were long wait for an appointment,saw different psychiatrists who it seemed didn't read my file or else key notes from my previous appointment were not recorded so it was frustrating when they didn't know important things I had previously told them,felt the environment I.e the building and some staff were not very welcoming,it didn't feel like a caring environment to me but maybe that was my nerves about being there.
Eventually I got regular appointments with the same psychiatrist who I got on well with on a one to one but I felt the medication route was mentioned often and I didn't not want to do that.I was discharged after around 6 appointments and felt good initially but I then developed worse different symptoms and decided to try the private route which led me to a better overall service
I hope you don't find my post off putting as you may find it much better than I did and it's important to explore all options to find the right solution.

xLisaBx

Shint0 wrote: »

I'm sorry but again you are focusing on suicide and self-harm. Not all people with mental health issues commit suicide or engage in self-harmimg behaviour as I said earlier not everybody who commits suicide has a mental health issue. The highest number of complaints made to the Medical Council are against psychiatrists. That's very telling.

Public psychiatric units, public residential services, occupational therapists, all these can be used by people who are not suicidal but have other mental health issues.

I don't think many doctors don't care about their patients. I'm training to be a biomed, and am considering accelerated med afterwards, and I even care about hypothetical patients.

whatdoicare

xLisaBx wrote: »

Where I'm living, my GP is probably the quickest to get an appointment with :pac:

I absolutely agree that both are equally important, don't get me wrong. But we have lots of focus on mental health, I rarely see focus on physical illnesses (bar cancers and certain heart diseases). If I wasn't studying Biomedical Science, I probably would never have heard of half the diseases I write about. Yet, without a shadow of a doubt, I would know a lot about mental illnesses.

If you have an emergency you have southdoc in your area do you not? We have Limerick doc where I am and in an emergency I've found them very good. Seen straight away, no fuss, no problem. (I have serious asthma related problems, so I know the score on getting antibiotics and meds as fast as possible)

If you are unaware of this service, you should look them up.

For the OP, I have a relative with a very serious mental disorder - services are dismal and are just useless.

xLisaBx

whatdoicare wrote: »

If you have an emergency you have southdoc in your area do you not? We have Limerick doc where I am and in an emergency I've found them very good. Seen straight away, no fuss, no problem. (I have serious asthma related problems, so I know the score on getting antibiotics and meds as fast as possible)

If you are unaware of this service, you should look them up.

For the OP, I have a relative with a very serious mental disorder - services are dismal and are just useless.

We do have south doc, and it's saved me from A&E quite a bit, but when my own GP knows the routine sometimes I just prefer to visit them.

whatdoicare

xLisaBx wrote:

We do have south doc, and it's saved me from A&E quite a bit, but when my own GP knows the routine sometimes I just prefer to visit them.

I'm a bit confused here. You said you've no other option but your gp for emergencies. I pointed out that you do indeed. You said not only do you know of the service but you have availed of it......so mental health services aren't holding up your access to meds. Or have I totally missed what you said in your original complaint?

IvyTheTerrible

xLisaBx wrote: »

There are so many suicide prevention campaigns that I can't even begin to list them all, I'm not even going to try. It is drilled into us, as a nation, that we should speak up and seek help.

This is achieved through social media, TV, Radio, Schools, Colleges, posters etc. People will kill themselves either way, but the effort is certainly put in to combat it.

Sometimes, I feel that it can be over-targeted as an issue. Where I live, you can be waiting 2 weeks for a GP appointment, and it's a lot of mental health service seekers that get emergency appointments. So many hotlines and walk in services are available for the suicidal and self harming, but if somebody is physically ill, they can't call a hotline for antibiotics or other medication. Yet they seem to be less of a priority.

I just don't believe any more services are required for mental health, well not much more anyway, because every second campaign seems to be about suicide and depression.

How do you know that it's emergency mental health issues that are taking all the emergency appointments in your GP's surgery?

ciaradx

I've been through the mental services now for years and have been lucky with waiting times. I have a great GP but I did have to push for a referral to a psychiatrist which really annoyed me. Any other illness and your GP would refer you to a specialist much quicker but it took months for my GP to finally agree to send me. I got an appointment after 6 weeks with the public system and have found them great. I see the same registrar each time which is helpful.

Other than that, I've been seeing the same counselor for a year and she's been fantastic. We've done talk therapy and cbt and it's really helped. I'm very lucky that my college is covering the costs as I'm doing my PhD. Once I'm finished, I'll start paying her myself but it is costly. People who would struggle to pay for therapy end up being looked after by charities like Pieta house, Aware etc. These provide such good services but it's not right that we rely on charities for this and not the government.

Penny Tration

I've been through the HSE services and they've been disgraceful. Strong word to use, but it's true.

I've been through it more than once, thanks to having a chronic mental illness that flares up at times and needs additional treatment.

Waiting lists are ridiculous. At my worst, I was a 'high risk' patient. So high risk that my parents had to collect my medication for me, and only one week at a time, in case I tried to top myself (I didn't try).

Given how 'high risk' I was, which even included late night visits to a psych ward (where they had no space for me, so I was sent home after being asked by an idiot doctor why I didn't believe in god), I was basically top of the list to see a psychiatrist.

I was left waiting 3 months.

After that, I got appointments every three months, each with a different doctor. Each asked me the same assessment questions rather than treating me, every single appointment was the same. Each appointment, there was a student there listening in, so I wasn't even comfortable to talk. I was never actually given a diagnosis, just stuck on antidepressants that made me vomit, hallucinate and sleepwalk. One of them also gave my mother confidential information about me (not about a suicide risk, they're obliged to report that, but about personal issues I was having with my ex).

Counselling, I was waiting six months.

Then I went privately. 4 week wait, twice weekly psychiatrist visits until I got a therapist (then it was once a month). I was given a correct diagnosis within 6 weeks and taken off antidepressants (I never had depression!) and put on anxiety and bipolar medication. Therapy waiting list was 8 weeks and I was seen once a week at a minimum, with more appointments available if I was struggling.

Thanks to the PRIVATE health care system, I'm healthy, happy and not in need of any treatment currently. If I'd stuck with the public health system, I can hand on heart say I'd be dead.

For all the spouting they do about suicide prevention, they don't actually give a damn, in my experience.

Kimbot

I have spent the last year+ under the care of them and they have been fanstastic for me. If it wasnt for them I wouldnt be here right now!

Letree

xLisaBx wrote: »

Where I'm living, my GP is probably the quickest to get an appointment with :pac:

Blame the government for bringing in free GP care for under 6's. That has resulted in increased waiting times to see a GP as people predicted before it was implemented. If free GP care for all comes in expect to wait up to 3 weeks for an appointment as is the case in England.

Personally i don't think people with mental health problems are taking up too much time from GP's. People bringing up little Johnny or Mary with a sniffle are probably taking up more appointments.

I agree that there is a lot of advertising about various mental health charities. I don't really trust the charities as anything other than money making ventures. What percentage goes to the client services i wonder.

xLisaBx

Letree wrote: »

Blame the government for bringing in free GP care for under 6's. That has resulted in increased waiting times to see a GP as people predicted before it was implemented. If free GP care for all comes in expect to wait up to 3 weeks for an appointment as is the case in England.

Personally i don't think people with mental health problems are taking up too much time from GP's. People bringing up little Johnny or Mary with a sniffle are probably taking up more appointments.

I agree that there is a lot of advertising about various mental health charities. I don't really trust the charities as anything other than money making ventures. What percentage goes to the client services i wonder.

I agree with the under 6's issue. Parents are bringing children in with a runny nose and it really is contributing to higher waiting times.

Moo Moo Land

The HSE have cut the mental health service budget again and again since 2008. They are a disgraceful organisation - they waste millions while cutting key programs (e.g. rehabilitation and training for people with disabilities). HSE managers are the worst performing managers in the world (their performance review wont reflect that).

xLisaBx

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

How do you know that it's emergency mental health issues that are taking all the emergency appointments in your GP's surgery?

Not all of them, but a lot of them. I know because the nurse mentioned it in passing. She didn't disclose any information, but she did say that it's a lot of people with mental health issues that get emergency appointments.

Also, through my studies I know the percentage average of patients going into certain outpatient settings.

Shint0

xLisaBx wrote: »

I agree with the under 6's issue. Parents are bringing children in with a runny nose and it really is contributing to higher waiting times.

You didn't raise that point in your post. You were trying to pin it all patients experiencing mental health difficulties as why you couldn't get an appointment with your GP. A little bit of balance is in order here.

xLisaBx

Shint0 wrote: »

You didn't raise that point in your post. You were trying to pin it all patients experiencing mental health difficulties as why you couldn't get an appointment with your GP. A little bit of balance is in order here.

I never said all, I said a lot, if you read the post.

Penny Tration

xLisaBx wrote: »

I never said all, I said a lot, if you read the post.

Yes, but you pinned the blame directly on the services provided to mental health patients.

let's not forget the large amount of medical card holders who go in for every cough, the under 6s whose parents bring them in for a runny nose, the hypochondriacs who go in for everything, and everyone else.

People clog up the queues, not just the mentally ill.

IvyTheTerrible

xLisaBx wrote: »

Not all of them, but a lot of them. I know because the nurse mentioned it in passing. She didn't disclose any information, but she did say that it's a lot of people with mental health issues that get emergency appointments.

Also, through my studies I know the percentage average of patients going into certain outpatient settings.

How does the nurse know what all these patients are discussing with the GP?

xLisaBx

Penny Tration wrote: »

Yes, but you pinned the blame directly on the services provided to mental health patients.

let's not forget the large amount of medical card holders who go in for every cough, the under 6s whose parents bring them in for a runny nose, the hypochondriacs who go in for everything, and everyone else.

People clog up the queues, not just the mentally ill.

I had a nice long reply typed out and it decided not to post

Lots of people clog up the GP for silly reasons, medical card holders being a lot of these people.

I don't think seeking mental health care is a silly reason. However, it does contribute to a backlog just like everything else. This is a mental health thread and is neither a thread about hypochondria nor under 6's. That's why I didn't discuss them.

The original point was the lack of public mental health care. My experience is that the GP seems to provide a lot, and everyone got all offended and upset about it.

Penny Tration

xLisaBx wrote: »

I had a nice long reply typed out and it decided not to post

Lots of people clog up the GP for silly reasons, medical card holders being a lot of these people.

I don't think seeking mental health care is a silly reason. However, it does contribute to a backlog just like everything else. This is a mental health thread and is neither a thread about hypochondria nor under 6's. That's why I didn't discuss them.

The original point was the lack of public mental health care. My experience is that the GP seems to provide a lot, and everyone got all offended and upset about it.

Probably because GPs don't provide much in the way of mental health care. All they're able to do is prescribe medication and refer to a psychiatrist or psychologist. They refer you on to a healthcare professional in that field and little else.

xLisaBx

Penny Tration wrote: »

Probably because GPs don't provide much in the way of mental health care. All they're able to do is prescribe medication and refer to a psychiatrist or psychologist. They refer you on to a healthcare professional in that field and little else.

They are also equipped to hand out anxiety medication, advise on coping techniques and breathing mechanisms, advise on dietary changes that can really help people.

Letree

xLisaBx wrote: »

I had a nice long reply typed out and it decided not to post

Lots of people clog up the GP for silly reasons, medical card holders being a lot of these people.

I don't think seeking mental health care is a silly reason. However, it does contribute to a backlog just like everything else. This is a mental health thread and is neither a thread about hypochondria nor under 6's. That's why I didn't discuss them.

The original point was the lack of public mental health care. My experience is that the GP seems to provide a lot, and everyone got all offended and upset about it.

Genuine Hypochondria is a mental illness although they don't call it that these days.