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This was done to me last year.
Told I’d be sectioned if I did not agree to admission so, under this threat, I agreed to admission; then told I would not be admitted in London (where all my support network is) because I was registered with a non-London GP.
This is unlawful. https://twitter.com/asifamhp/status/1319038255799685126
Told I’d be sectioned if I did not agree to admission so, under this threat, I agreed to admission; then told I would not be admitted in London (where all my support network is) because I was registered with a non-London GP.
This is unlawful. https://twitter.com/asifamhp/status/1319038255799685126
The NHS constitution gives patients the legal right to choose where they are treated.
Making choice work in #mentalhealth: Guide for people using MH services on their legal right to choose a provider that best suits their individual needs & preferences https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/choice-mental-health/
Making choice work in #mentalhealth: Guide for people using MH services on their legal right to choose a provider that best suits their individual needs & preferences https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/choice-mental-health/
When I was told I could not be admitted to the hospital where I was assessed as needing a bed, there was a bed.
I was told explicitly that I could not be admitted to the bed that was available in that hospital because I was registered with a GP elsewhere.
This is not lawful.
I was told explicitly that I could not be admitted to the bed that was available in that hospital because I was registered with a GP elsewhere.
This is not lawful.
With physical ailments, patients are admitted where they present (subject to bed availability) - then transferred locally later at a clinically appropriate time, if the patient wants it.
But some psychiatric hospitals refuse to admit patients on the basis of GP registration.
But some psychiatric hospitals refuse to admit patients on the basis of GP registration.
The practice by these psychiatric hospitals contravenes the NHS constitution.
It is unlawful.
It is unlawful.
When I asked on Twitter last year, there was a clear split between:
* #mentalhealth professionals who admited patients to available beds based on clinical need
* those who thought it was totally normal & routine to refuse a patient an available bed based on GP location
* #mentalhealth professionals who admited patients to available beds based on clinical need
* those who thought it was totally normal & routine to refuse a patient an available bed based on GP location
If live in Yorkshire & are visiting London & are unlucky enough to be badly injured in traffic collision, you'll be taken by ambo to the nearest hospital for emergency treatment, admitted there & treated.
You're only transferred back to when well enough, if that's what you want.
You're only transferred back to when well enough, if that's what you want.
That's what should be the case in #mentalhealth services too - care delivered where the patient presents, if there's a bed available.
There's no provision in the NHS constitution that says it's okay to refuse admission to a patient based on where they have registered with a GP.
There's no provision in the NHS constitution that says it's okay to refuse admission to a patient based on where they have registered with a GP.
Unfortunately, a significant number of NHS #mentalhealth services & professionals hold the mistaken belief that they can refuse a bed to a patient & require them to be transferred elsewhere during a crisis simply based on where they've registered with a GP.
They are wrong.
They are wrong.
But, this being #mentalhealth services, where there is very little scope for holding anyone to account for unlawful practices, all sorts of dodgy practices take place & are accepted as the norm.
Such as refusing patients admission to available beds based on where their GP is.
Such as refusing patients admission to available beds based on where their GP is.
If live in Yorkshire & are visiting London & have a #mentalhealth crisis, your treatment could well be very different.
Not for reasons related to your clinical needs or bed availability - but because of exclusionary policies based on folklore, prejudice & service expediency.
Not for reasons related to your clinical needs or bed availability - but because of exclusionary policies based on folklore, prejudice & service expediency.
You should be taken by ambulance straight to hospital (ED), where you'll be assessed. So far so good.
But you could be picked up by police ( #s136) & taken to a "place of safety" (which, thank goodness, should no longer be a police cell) - sometimes even in a squad car.
But you could be picked up by police ( #s136) & taken to a "place of safety" (which, thank goodness, should no longer be a police cell) - sometimes even in a squad car.
#s136 is an arrest.
It's a necessary power that's been around for a long time - it's there so police can help someone they think is having a mental health crisis by taking them somewhere safe for a health assessment.
Still, police involvement can be shock.
It's a necessary power that's been around for a long time - it's there so police can help someone they think is having a mental health crisis by taking them somewhere safe for a health assessment.
Still, police involvement can be shock.
This thread isn't about that. It's about what happens where you get to hospital - whether after a RTC where you've got serious injuries or are in #mentalhealth crisis - & are assessed by clinicians as needing inpatient treatment.
This is where it can - but should not - split.
This is where it can - but should not - split.
This thread isn't about bed availability either.
The NHS does not commission enough beds to meet the needs of the population. Instead, a significant proportion of the money for NHS #mentalhealth care is diverted to pay for expensive beds in private providers.
The NHS does not commission enough beds to meet the needs of the population. Instead, a significant proportion of the money for NHS #mentalhealth care is diverted to pay for expensive beds in private providers.
The underprovision of NHS #mentalhealth beds is one reason you can be assessed at your local hospital in Southampton but, if there is no bed available in Southampton at the time, you end up being admitted to a hospital in Bradford.
This causes significant harm to patients.
This causes significant harm to patients.
