Health Service Rankings

[ChristineM]

Mental health has always been the poor relation on the UK, and "care in the community" was a euphemism for cost-cutting, shutting down a lot of the residential provision.
Many years ago I worked at a community home for people not well enough to live indendently, there were lots of schizophrenics. They kept the residents heavily medicated, I'm convinced this was at least partly done to reduce staffing costs.
I took a group of them to the pub regularly, which the management frowned on. It was a bit like that film "One flew over the cuckoo's nest".

Up until the conservative cuts my brother in law attend and helped run a drop in centre for mentally ill people, saw a counselor once a week. A phycologist every month and a psychiatrist every 3 months. His medication was observed, having blood tests every 6 months. And then... Nothing... He has to phone his dictor (who is not qualified in mental health) if he feels he needs to change the dose of his tablets.

I speak/councel him every day, i have seen the devastating effects of lack of support.

I really believe cutting back this area, the area so few people consider or complain about, (great for saving money without loosing votes ), is one day going to backfire on the conservative government who is causing such misery

 

[Martin]

Up until the conservative cuts my brother in law attend and helped run a drop in centre for mentally ill people, saw a counselor once a week. A phycologist every month and a psychiatrist every 3 months. His medication was observed, having blood tests every 6 months. And then... Nothing... He has to phone his dictor (who is not qualified in mental health) if he feels he needs to change the dose of his tablets.

I speak/councel him every day, i have seen the devastating effects of lack of support.

I really believe cutting back this area, the area so few people consider or complain about, (great for saving money without loosing votes ), is one day going to backfire on the conservative government who is causing such misery

That sounds really dire. But at least he has you, and presumably other family support. I suppose they assume that people with mental health problems are less likely to complain about services being removed? Where I live there are now very few mental health beds left, so people are often sent to other counties far from home when they need urgent care.