Share review of The Whiteleaf Centre

The Whiteleaf Centre 2021-01-17 Person 1 5 0

From the off-set, my care was not individualised, and I was not treated with compassion. The first contact I had I was told my case was not urgent despite my GP and private therapist referring myself to them. My partner has to fight my case to get them to contact me sooner. Following my initial assessment in person, I was seemingly randomly selected two places to be referred - the complex needs team and the online day hospital. Despite me telling them I had a private therapist, both of these referrals it was recommended I stopped that in order to talk to someone else who I had no rapport with, and didn't yet trust. I was told nothing about the complex needs team until I further questioned it at another phone call later on. The online day hospital was pointless, when you are at a point so low there is no use for resilience training, I needed to get out of the crisis I was in first. The day hospital was also twice a day every weekday, when you are mid-lockdown, this meant I could not get out or see anyone as I had no time to do so, making me more isolated than I already was. I aired my concerns and was referred back to the crisis team for phone calls and no other referrals. At no point was I told who the person was on the phone who was calling me (nurse, support worker, psychiatrist?) and was never asked if it was a good time to talk. I questioned my medications at one point and no-one got back to me to discuss the results and it turned out that's because they didn't. It took nearly a week for someone to tell me what medications I had to take (I was never asked my opinions on this, or got any say on my treatment plan or care). These decisions were discussed in a daily team meeting with no input from myself and fed to other members of the team second or third hand. Repeatedly, my partner and I told the team that I do not like phone calls, meaning I wouldn't pick up when I was already feeling anxious or distressed, the phone number is also withheld so it is never definite it was the team calling me. Also, because each of the phone calls was from a different member of the team who I didn't know, I never felt able to open up to them. I could not build rapport or trust people to share my feelings that I am more used to not discussing. When I would not pick up, it was sometimes just a voicemail that was left, and they would not try alternative methods of contacting me. It was often days before they got in touch with me or my partner for when they should have done. What is more concerning is that I had already specified my suicidal ideations, and yet when I didn't pick up it didn't seem like a true concern, more of an annoyance to them. Someone else feeling the same, with less home support might have been seriously unwell, or worse before the crisis team would have acted. Each phone call consisted of the exact same questions, there was clearly minimal communication between the team because I had to explain myself repeatedly to every person I spoke to. Every phone call resulted in me becoming frustrated with the team, people did not listen to what I was saying, and it never felt like they really cared what I said. I was treated like a child who was not autonomous and couldn't think, or make opinions for myself. Repeatedly my partner was referred to as my sister, which is both unacceptable and offensive. There were a few team members I spoke to who were caring and kind on the phone but they, unfortunately, did not make up the majority of the people I spoke to. It has now been recommended I was discharged, despite feeling nothing has changed in my mental health, and I have stopped taking my medications. It feels like the team just want me off of their books, rather than really help me. My partner felt that they were intimidating in the way they spoke to her if I had not picked up - they should be concerned and not aggressive. Due to their manner of speaking to myself and my partner, I do not want to pick up the call to answer the same few questions (how am I, sleep, medications, hobbies, can we help), I found I trusted them less each time I spoke to them, and dreaded their calls.

In summary from the points made above: - Member of the team should state who they are in the team: nurses, support workers, psychiatrists - Decisions about referrals and medications should be made with the individual, not in a 'team meeting' and then fed back - There should be alternative methods of contact to ensure individuals wellbeing if the phone is not answered, and this should be done on the same day - The same people should be calling so people can build up trust with them - Things people speak to them about should be clearly recorded and communicated so they do not have to repeat themselves at each phone call - Partners details should be properly recorded to prevent mistaken identities - At each phone call they should ask if now is a good time to talk - Consider changing the questions asked, as these are the same each time, instead work on building rapport and trust