Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
There are tissues on my desk.
They are probably the most essential part of my room and sometimes they are all I have to offer patients, along with a willingness to listen. I never considered there would be days when I use them more than my stethoscope but there are and they're becoming more frequent.
It is 8.40am. I am sat in my room with a patient with a serious mental illness. I know them well. I have seen them at their best and their worst. Today is one of the worst. Today they want to die. They look pale, exhausted, can barely speak, sit staring blankly into the air. They cannot even cry.
I have nothing to offer this patient, apart from empathy and my pathetic tissues. They need specialist care from the mental health services.
It should be simple - the local services have been streamlined. Redesigned and rearranged. Tailored to the demands of the modern NHS. Ready for action. The clue is in the name - The Crisis Team. I ring them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-zoe-norris/nhs-mental-health-services-the-reality_b_6329050.html
Depressing reading
I wonder what happened to that pledge to give mental health services equal weight to physical health? Or is physical health to be worn down to the atrocious level of mental health then they can claim success? 🙄
They are probably the most essential part of my room and sometimes they are all I have to offer patients, along with a willingness to listen. I never considered there would be days when I use them more than my stethoscope but there are and they're becoming more frequent.
It is 8.40am. I am sat in my room with a patient with a serious mental illness. I know them well. I have seen them at their best and their worst. Today is one of the worst. Today they want to die. They look pale, exhausted, can barely speak, sit staring blankly into the air. They cannot even cry.
I have nothing to offer this patient, apart from empathy and my pathetic tissues. They need specialist care from the mental health services.
It should be simple - the local services have been streamlined. Redesigned and rearranged. Tailored to the demands of the modern NHS. Ready for action. The clue is in the name - The Crisis Team. I ring them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-zoe-norris/nhs-mental-health-services-the-reality_b_6329050.html
Depressing reading
I wonder what happened to that pledge to give mental health services equal weight to physical health? Or is physical health to be worn down to the atrocious level of mental health then they can claim success? 🙄