Share review of Isebrook Hospital

Isebrook Hospital 2023-01-12 Person 0 5 0

I have been using mental health services since about 14/15 first camh in Bedford then the adult services. This is hands down the worst ever. I was referred as urgent last July 2021, got seen in September. By got seen I mean i had a nurse called koleki reporting back often inaccurately to the least sympathetic psychiatrist i have ever encountered in my life named [name removed] [name removed]. This was a first for me that I didn't see a [name removed] directly. He wrote horrible things about me in a letter, wouldn't consider how I felt about anything to do with my treatment. He gave me a choice between the medicine that wasn't working or one known for major weight gain despite knowing I'm petrified of weight gain having an eating disorder diagnosis for about 15 years by this point. Also the same class of medicine gave me hypothyroidism, diabetes and i had to lose over 7 stone twice on more "weight neutral" medicine of that class. He took me off the antipsychotic that wasnt working once and didnt titrate the doseage. He just stopped it immediately which made me even worse for a while. Eventually I got desperate enough to try the medicine he had offered I was frightened of by which time he decided he wouldn't change til he seen me in person. He wouldn't see me in person til he forced me through this physical health check which was distressing for me and hard to get to. Its claimed its for all patients and they wont help you if you don't comply. I never experienced this. He then left days after before I could be seen. I then had to wait even longer without medicine for a [name removed] to be replaced. Conveniently nurse [name removed] left the team aswell! She lied about things like I refused to be seen in person (I couldn't get to the appointment without relying on my ex boyfriend to drive me there who is on an alternating split shift) and because I declined when she invited herself around to my house (no one ever comes to my house and I explained I had 3 large dogs). So she chose to make it look like I was being uncooperative. Eventually I get seen by [name removed] [name removed] sometime in MAY, he seemed to care but made alot of assumptions and spoke more than me and my carer combined. He was a definite improvement still. He downplayed how bad I felt even though I showed him multiple failed transactions of me trying to purchase nembutal the euthanasia drug. I was supposed to be seen within 10 weeks, maybe less at the time as I just started a new medication. I understand there is understaffing and alot of people who need help. I did get a letter with alot of inaccuracies which caused me massive distress, no one would help me about it. It looked like he was implying I was lying about stuff, I am distrusting of mental health professionals for good reason. I Eventually seen him 5 months later in October, we wasted half the appointment him repeating himself saying I took it the wrong way. I felt he was trying to help me though. I was told to be seen in 10 weeks. Which would have been about 5 weeks ago and nothing. I did hear recently he was unwell on leave but this is how they are treating someone with a known 16 year history of bipolar disorder who feels suicidal regularly, an eating disorder and 3 other diagnosed mental illnesses. The biggest joke is my new care nurse named [name removed], he would never call when he was meant to. Was no help when he did. I haven't heard from him since probably July or August. I've just been left to it. If anything this service has made me feel even more hopeless, the stress I was under was intensified by the previous nurse and dr just saying what they felt like about me in letters. Things weren't perfect with [name removed] [name removed] but atleast he tried. The fact im left so long without appointments and totally ignored by my case worker/nurse i am honestly worse off now 18 months after my urgent referral. Keep up the great work... I hope other patients haven't been treated this way.

Literally absolutely everything. The only people who care are the receptionists and even one of them isn't particularly pleasant. Employ better staff would be a good start. Maybe don't leave suicidal patients with a history of attempts and active eating disorder relapse to their own devices for 5 months at a time without a care worker even checking in occasionally. I hate this service. They don't deserve the one star.