CPN failings

olias

This is more of a vent than anything moneysaving...

My wife has serious mental health problems, has had for most of her life. She has been on medication for at least the last 20-25 years, and has had several spells in hospital. She has been under a psychatrist and cpn for a long time too.

About 4 years ago we moved to a new health authority area and she got a new psych and cpn. Cpn was exellent, but then went off on long term sick, never to be seen again - cue second cpn, useless, did not know a thing about my wifes history, and was eventually sacked due to incompetency. 3rd cpn, cancelled several appointments and forgot to make new ones. Last time, she rang me up before hand and said that she couldn't make the next appointment as she was going on pre planned sick leave for a hospital stay. The next time she saw my wife, she let slip that she had actually been on holiday!!!!

The last straw was today. My wife attended a pre planned appointment at hospital where among other things, they were due to discuss my wifes participation in a research project involving a new method of mental health therapy. She booked in and sat for half an hour in the waiting room before the receptionist asked her if her cpn hadn't turned up. When my wife said no, the receptionist rang the head office only to be told, 'oh, she's off sick', did nobody say?'

Now I'm sorry, but enough is enough - these are people with serious mental health issues, and to muck them about like this is not on...

Olias

NeverEnough

So sorry to hear this, unfortunately mental health teams have been savagely cut and cpns are carrying ridiculous caseloads so end up going sick or leaving. The drive to reduce spending on salaries and make more and more silly management posts has led to this.......
Have you thought about taking up a complaint with PALS or directly with the mental health trust?

Hope things improve for your wife.

olias

Hi, thanks for replying - I have had to complain in the past - following the debacle with the second cpn - I was actually told by the head of the team (in a round about way) that their aim was to remove people from services in as short a time as possible and move on to the next - I was so furious I said to him that if my wife didn't get the help she needed and subsequently committed suicide then I would stand up at the inquest and tell the coroner exactly who I held to blame. A bit harsh, but she was subsequently given a new cpn, a second opinion on her diagnosis and a new referral back to her psych.

She is reasonably stable at the moment, but really needs the support of a good cpn otherwise I can see her either ending up back in hospital, or worse.

Olias

ineed

Just wanted to say I'm sorry to hear your troubles, I've had my fair share of useless CPNs in the past (and extremly good ones to be fair, including the current one). My advice would be complain,

http://www.rethink.org/living_with_mental_illness/rights_and_laws/when_things_go_wrong/complaints/complaining_about_th.html

http://www.rethink.org/living_with_mental_illness/rights_and_laws/when_things_go_wrong/complaints/

Good luck to you .

LadyMorticia

Sorry to hear about you and your wife's experiences. Unfortunately, it's not as uncommon as people think it is. I've had my fair share of bad experiences with the mental health team and CPNs too.

Definitely have a look at the links that ineed posted. You have every right to complain.

olias

I do worry that if my wife (or I on her behalf), complain, then will it actually achieve anything constructive, or will it just pi55 the people off who she has to continue working with and being supported by - will not be condusive to the most productive of relationships...

what do others think?

*(edit)* I wasn't going to include this , but I think I will....my wife took an overdose last night - not a biggie, just a few too many pills on top of a few beers - no hospital needed - she was just sick and had a headache all day today - she has admitted it was partly due to the issues I mentioned in my first post.

Olias

Savvy_Sue

olias wrote: »

I do worry that if my wife (or I on her behalf), complain, then will it actually achieve anything constructive, or will it just pi55 the people off who she has to continue working with and being supported by - will not be condusive to the most productive of relationships...

It shouldn't. I'd recommend going through PALS because their aim is to make sure mistakes / poor service aren't repeated.

ineed

olias wrote: »

I do worry that if my wife (or I on her behalf), complain, then will it actually achieve anything constructive, or will it just pi55 the people off who she has to continue working with and being supported by - will not be condusive to the most productive of relationships...

what do others think?

*(edit)* I wasn't going to include this , but I think I will....my wife took an overdose last night - not a biggie, just a few too many pills on top of a few beers - no hospital needed - she was just sick and had a headache all day today - she has admitted it was partly due to the issues I mentioned in my first post.

Olias

If you don't complain things stay the same unfortunately, complaining is supposed to pi55 them off, it scares them into actually doing something constructive (in my experience). And if it ever gets worse, consider contacting a MH solicitor, I can recommend a few depending on your area. This is extreme case only obviously but it's worth knowing.

On another note, I'm so sorry to hear about what happened , I really hope she's ok. If you need to, try this website, http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/. Good for all things MH and free to use, you'll find support in the forums and chat room for your wife and yourself. This mus be so stressful for you too. Take care.

bitsandpieces

olias wrote: »

I do worry that if my wife (or I on her behalf), complain, then will it actually achieve anything constructive, or will it just pi55 the people off who she has to continue working with and being supported by - will not be condusive to the most productive of relationships...

what do others think?

I was also worried about complaining about medical professionals. I got to the point where I decided that - if they were committed to doing their jobs properly - it should actually let them improve my care; if they were a******* then at least I would be forewarned in future :rotfl:

Certainly, nothing terrible happened after I complained. Some things may be done better in future (for me, and other patients) and in the meantime people seem to be trying to avoid messing up again. I haven't seen some staff since I complained - they may be giving me a wide berth or this may be a coincidence, but these are members of staff I'm happy not to see Perhaps if you go to PALS they can assist you.