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Rushden Centre 2020-12-04 Person 5 5 0

As next of kin, it is difficult to answer for my father. Also, some of the questions above were not really relevant. My only dealing with the Mental Health Team has been with Phil Searing who I cannot rate highly enough. As soon as we managed to make contact ( that was the tricky bit) he took on board our case and reacted with the speed required. We had been asked by the care home to find alternative care for our father as they could no longer cope and we needed the support/ input of the Mental Health Team to identify his needs and provide a link between this local authority and a new one. This wasn't easy as the current care home had agreed to discharge him from the service in September so he wasn't technically still registered. Phil discussed Dad with the dementia consultant and then arranged a call between him, the care home and my sister and I. He was thorough and showed compassion for Dad's situation. He was supportive for trying to get Dad off the medication ( especially as it appeared to not be working) and happy to link up with other people to help us identify the right way forward. We have now moved Dad to Bedfordshire - and i am confident Phil will liaise with the team there if required. Its a shame, now we have made the contact that he will no longer be 'fighting Dad's corner'. Thanks, Tonia Beddows

Inevitably, arranging care for an elderly relative is often a new and difficult experience for most people. As a self-funding case, we really felt there was little joined up support to find the correct place for Dad. I appreciate resources are limited but some sort of 'bridge' between the Mental Health Team and Adult Social Services would be a great improvement.