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Investigating crisis care: Mind's inquiry so far
Posted Friday 19 August 2011
Guest blog from Paul Grey, who is chairing Mind's inquiry into acute and crisis care mental health services
Back in November 2010, which seems like a long time ago now, Mind asked me to chair an independent inquiry panel investigating the current state of crisis mental health services in England and Wales. The panel's goal is to present a series of recommendations on how to improve the provision of these services.
The inquiry panel has done quite a bit of travelling around England and Wales over the past 10 months, hearing from a wide range of service users and health professionals. We really get a feel of what is happening on the ground when we visit the different sites.
An epic journey to the middle of Wales for one of our panel hearings featured a taxi driver that sped through the countryside like Lewis Hamilton in disguise! It still took forever to reach our destination but, when interviewing crisis teams in Wales the next day, we found that staff were travelling similar distances to meet their clients. What commitment!
There have been times during the inquiry process when I've heard someone's personal experience of using crisis services and felt myself welling up with emotion. And I ask myself, is this really caring? Is this really the healing of the soul? But within hours we would hear of psychiatrists who took time to listen and empathise with an individual, which made so much difference to their experience.
The journey so far has lead the inquiry panel to believe that we must push for an institutional change in acute and crisis care in England and Wales. A good place to start is by putting the people who use these services at the heart of them — not buildings, systems, policies or models, but people. We have found so far that when this happens there are more successful outcomes for everyone involved.
I have used mental health services. I've always said that I am only passing through those services: care is not my final destination. I feel that this inquiry is taking us on a new journey; I hope through our recommendations and the campaign we can make a positive and lasting impact for the people of England and Wales.
Paul Grey
A pastor and social entrepreneur, Paul’s experiences within the mental health system give him first-hand knowledge of the issues relevant to service users today. He is a co-founder of I and I (Inspire and Influence), a national black service user movement.
7 Comments
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Congratulations on such commitment by the inquiry team.
I had the privilege of meeting you at the first meeting in Baker Street.
I look forward to reading the final report. I hope notice is taken by the authorities and more equitable services result throughout England and Wales. -
I have been hospitalised a number of times and think I am well qualified to comment. Crisis care is a disgrace. The kind of "care" offered in a crisis is the opposite of what vulnerable people need and would wish for. How does it improve someone's mental health when the police break their door down and drag them off to "hospital" in handcuffs? How does it improve someone's mental health when three or four "nurses" hold them down and inject them in the backside? How does it improve someones mental health to be held on a dirty, overcrowded ward with no facilities and no-one to talk to? The first time I was hospitalised was in 1985 and the last time 2009. Things have not improved in that time. In fact arguably with CTO's they have got worse. The heart of the problem is that the law allows the professionals to force "treatment" on people. If it were made entirely voluntary they would have to improve things or they would soon end up with no "clients".
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Hi all,
In case you haven't seen, we have made a very short poll to help us tell the story of care in crisis.
It only takes a couple of minutes to fill out and will help us to get a clear picture of people's attitudes around crisis care.
Take the poll here - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2LLYYMB
Many thanks,
Richard from Mind -
Hi all,
In case you haven't seen, we have made a very short poll to help us tell the story of care in crisis.
It only takes a couple of minutes to fill out and will help us to get a clear picture of people's attitudes around crisis care.
Take the poll here - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2LLYYMB
Many thanks,
Richard from Mind -
how to stay positive in the fact of all these cuts.
my feeling is that its about having my voice. It may be not listened to but I will have it. Like when they come round to tell you that 'sorry we don't do this service any more'. And they ask you do you understand and are you OK. If i said yes at that point it would go on my notes that she seems OK with the situation. I may not be in the mood or have the energy for a big complaint, but with the little breath I can still muster, I will gasp "NO, Im not OK with it!"
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This is an excellent campaign and if it succeeds in persuading the House of Commons, and more importantly, the hospitals who provide acute "care", to reduce the use of coercion, particularly for the "protection" of the patient, it will benefit everyone who has the misfortune to land up in an acute NHS ward.
I am a non-violent person with no criminal convictions. I have never hit a person in my life, nor been subject to a CTO. Yet in 2009 I was hospitalised and had repeated experiences similar to those of Mary Costello, and in one instance, far worse. Nursing staff were violent, and physically and verballly abusive to me. My "treatment" amounted to torture. Two years later, I am still severely traumatised by the treatment I received, and it It has completely shattered my life.. All of this was claimed by the hospital to be " for my own protecton."
Mary Costello has gone to the heart of the problem. There should be no forcible treatment for a person's " own protection" at all: all such treatment should be voluntary. The conditions I experienced in hospital were worse than in any prison in England or Wales, and an absolute disgrace, a blot on the face of the NHS acute services.
I have competed your poll and I wish you every success in your campaign. I look forward to reading your report..
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I help run a drop-in for people who suffer from mental distress. Our volunteers and clients all have experience of the current Crisis 'care' system. Care is definitely a misnomer.
One client,was visited by the crisis team, who allowed her to take an overdose infront of them. Their response was to ring an ambulance then leave her alone to wait for it to arrive. Days later she went to A & E with two volunteers. When the crisis team came she told them over and over she felt suicidal and said how she planned to kill herself. This interrogation ended when a volunteer butted in and said. "Look she's told you she cannot keep herself safe" This was met with "Get security!"
Another client, with learning disabilities also, has been begging for help for months for his voices. After threatening to seriously harm others and himself, he was taken to his GP to try and get help. The crisis team agreed to ring 5 hours later but said if he got angry they would not help.
The GP said he could not be left alone, and instructed the volunteer to go with him and wait till the crisis team came out. He lives in a high rise flat and was threatening to jump from the building Our management refused to allow any volunteer to be placed in that position (it was beyond our remit) so called an ambulance. He was taken to A & E but managed to abscond whilst waiting. The police picked him up on a 136 He waited hours for a 10 minute assessment, was refused any medication (even a mild sedative) before being kicked out after midnight with the number of the samaritans.
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