cuts to mental health services grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

[zeemiller]

for the past few weeks ive been struggling and cant real moan as have done well for a period of time before that.

went to the dr's and it was decided my fluoxitine needed to be upped and i needed a referal to ste3ps to change, there are no mind service in the area im in so this is where all get sent to with probs etc.

in the past when ive been refured there i got a letter thru the post a week later to go for a face to face one on one assesment then they decide which course to put u on n then u wiat for letter for appointment to start course etc.

now due to cuts its all change u get a letter to phone up to make an appointment for an assesment over the phone which takes 3o minutes but due to mass ppl being sent there the telephone appointemnt not same week its 2 to 3 weeks off etc n u have to wait 2 weeks for them to send 1st letter to ask u to phone up in 1st place etc.

then after the telephone assemet when they tell u when sum one can phone and u do assesment etc u have to wait for letter appointment to come thru to start the course they put you on, all in oall without any one to one face to face you wait ages to even get an appointment to start a course. i was told the axe of one on one is due to govenment cuts grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

makes me think if i was as bad as before how would i cope as so little to turn to or be refured to etc.

am doing better with panic attacks which started up in past moth after years without them but this time of year is a struggle for many with depression etc. real annoyed with how hard it is when u make effort to try get help and sort things out. will do everything but the cuts all over uk just arnt right.

[Catbrian]

Long waiting lists in London too. 

That assessment procedure sounds complicated and just as time consuming.  I can't quite work out in what way does this telephone assessment procedure, as opposed to a one-to-one, responds to cut backs.  The therapist is still using up their time from, I'm assuming, a place of work... I wonder who masterminds this nonsense....

[stewart]

i bet its masterminded by some politician who knows much less about depression than i know of Quantum Physics

[Sweetpea]

Well said Stewart  $%$

S x x x x

[zeemiller]

if services continue to be cut at this rate does that mean in say 5 years there will be almost nothing left????
like to know theres something to turn to when times get bad but more and more its becoming harder.
1st at drs its hard tto see the dr at times as most do telephone appointments now so dr rings u later and u dont see them face to face etc.
and then when reffured no face to face from mental health service till 12 weeks on not good at all grrrrrrrrrrrrr

[stewart]

the crazy thing is, they cut back on services that help people, and quite often this help stops most from getting worse.
No service, people get worse and could end up having to be hospitalised, voletarily or otherwise.... im no genious, but im sure this later would cost significantly more than having support workers that visit us.

[zeemiller]

had my phone call (over the phone assesment other week) at points asked questions about harming myself or others etc phone echoes eg knew it was put on speaker phone in offce i was phoneing it actuallymade it hard to talk thru it as could hear own voice in back ground etc.
shockingly after the phone call now on waiting list so may even be longer than 12 weeks b4 see sum1 face to face and start another c.b.t course!