Tw: suicide
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Just been to A & E with one of my friends tonight because he was suicidal. When we finally saw saw the mental health team, they decided to discharge him because they said they couldn't do anything for him in hospital...

TW: suicide
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...and they don't think he's at risk of committing suicide, despite the fact he literally told me how he planned to kill himself if they discharged him to go home to his empty flat and terrible neighbours.

Apparently they can't talk to social services, they can't adjust his medication, they can't refer him to the community care team, he has to call them himself, and they can't even refer him for talking therapy, again he has to refer himself

He's so unwell he's struggling to speak??? He struggles to make phone calls when he's feeling at his best because of social anxiety???? How the fuck is he meant to arrange all this??????

He's staying with me for tonight so I know he's safe, and he's feeling a bit better, and tomorrow we're going to make another plan

Just... aaaaaaaargh

What kind of healthcare system takes someone in acute distress, makes them wait around in waiting rooms all by themself in the middle of a global pandemic, lets other patients abuse them, and then says 'actually we can't do anything, phone this number in the morning, despite...

TW: suicide
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...the fact you've literally told us you're planning to kill yourself tonight???'

TW: homophobia, violence
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They wouldn't let me wait with him because of covid and because we're not family, so I went to wait in the car, and then when I next heard from him the other person in the waiting room was calling him a nonce and threatening to fuck him up.

And the member of staff on duty was doing NOTHING, he was just in the other room behind glass windows with a shut door and earphones in

So I went back in the hospital to get security cos I was really worried about my friend. Security weren't at their desk, there was no-one at reception, so I just started wandering around the hospital, telling random members of staff what was happening...

...and asking if they knew where security were. Nobody knew where they were, so eventually I ended back up in a & e asking the guy on reception if he knew where my friend was and if he could send security, and he told me where my friend was but didn't call security.

So eventually I managed to find my friend, who couldn't speak, basically shaking with fear, messaged me saying he really didn't feel safe in that room.

The other person obviously noticed me come in and proceeded to update the person they were on the phone to, who started...

TW: homophobia, paedophilia, rape, violence
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...calling us 'nonces and paedophiles and rapists' over the phone, which was on loudspeaker, and the person in the room started threatening to fuck both of us up.

I went to talk to the member of staff on duty - I had to wave at him through the glass to get his attention. He got up and opened the door, but didn't come out.

I explained what was happening, and how my friend really didn't feel safe, and was there anywhere else we could wait?

He said unfortunately there was nowhere else to wait, but not to worry, nothing was going to happen, he was there.

Except then he went back behind the glass barrier, shut the door, and put his earphones back in.

If the other person in the room had decided to get physical, it probably would've taken him at least 60 seconds to notice what was happening, extract himself from his earphones, stand up, open the door, and cross the room.

60 seconds is a long time if someone is attacking you.

My friend was really not in a good way at this point (which when you arrive feeling suicidal is not a good place), so out of desperation I went back to the guy on duty and asked if we could wait in the corridor, just around the corner, so at least we were out of the room.

He agreed, so we went and waited on some chairs in the corridor, where we could still hear the other person yelling about how they were going to fuck us up.

I was messaging my dad at this point, and he came to reception and talked to a member of staff and tried to get them to send security or do something, and they were just like 'there's a member of staff there'

I mean the problem here isn't really that nobody could find security, it's the fact people who are acutely mentally unwell are all being crammed in one room with one member of staff, and being made to wait hours before they get to see someone who can actually help them.

TW: suicide
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Anyway, eventually my friend did get to see the crisis team, & they spoke to him for a while, then sent him back to wait in the corridor, where I was waiting, & he told me they'd said they were going to discharge him & he was going to go home and kill himself.

So I knocked on the door he'd come out of, and nobody answered, so I knocked some more, and eventually a cleaner took pity on me and let me in, and I asked a doctor if I could ask the crisis team a question, and they agreed to see me

TW: suicide
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And then basically I was like 'he's in danger, why are you discharging him?' and they were like 'we can't do anything for him, he hasn't made plans to commit suicide, he needs to phone a different crisis team on this number'

TW: suicide
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Anyway I cried a bit, and got them to explain all the options, and then I went back to talk to my friend, and was like, I hate to ask this, but have you made plans as to how you'd kill yourself?

TW: suicide
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And he said he had and told me them, and I went back in and told the crisis team, and they were like 'we still don't think he's going to kill himself, we don't see how he'd benefit from admission'

Like, from what I've heard from psychiatric in-patient wards, they're not great, but to turn someone away who's in that much distress and say you won't do anything for them???

Basically I knew mental healthcare on the NHS was fucked, but I didn't realise it was this fucked (or at least so far I've been lucky enough not to experience it)

Also I feel it's relevant to mention that my friend is trans, and passes in some occasions but not others, and I feel like that definitely affected how he was treated, at least by the other person in the waiting room.

We're both white, and I am also trans, but haven't medically transitioned at all, and I have a high-pitched voice and a fairly posh accent and am very good at doing the whole 'polite distressed women who just wants to understand what's going on' and crying

And that definitely affected our treatment as well, and makes me wonder how much worse it would have been if I hadn't been there

Anyway, if it makes any difference, this happened at the Medway Maritime Hospital, @Medway_NHS_FT

And the reason my friend's mental health was in such a poor state and he didn't want to go home was because he has noisy, homophobic neighbours that @mhshomes and @medway_council have apparently been investigating for months, but nothing has been done

He hasn't been offered alternative accommodation, despite the fact he hasn't been able to sleep properly for months and it's having a huge negative impact on his mental health

Since I'm tagging people, @tracey_crouch is this something you could help with?

He's one of your constituents, and he desperately needs support with housing and healthcare.

Just to add, my friend is no longer in immediate danger, he's staying with me for the time being, but it's not a long-term solution (I'm having to sleep on the floor) and he's pretty sure going back to the flat will trigger suicidal thoughts again.

He should be ok until Monday though when @mhshomes have said they'll get in touch.

Minor update, again he's seems ok today, we're both just trying to recover a bit from Thursday night, make a plan for next week, and get ready to make lots more phone calls on Monday

Also just another indication of how systems aren't coping, I don't think I've phoned a single crisis line lately that's had less than a 20 minute wait.

Being left on hold is hard enough when you're in a good place, but when you're in crisis it's dangerous.

Also not a fan of when you phone a helpline that says it's 24/7 and it turns out the people who could actually help you only work 9 to 5, Monday to Friday

Update:

@mhshomes have been in touch and assured my friend that they are dealing with the issue (the noisy neighbour), but they also asked him if he'd registered on Kent Homechoice to look for other housing, which suggests they're expecting him to move...

To be very clear, this neighbour is intentionally making noise throughout the night to disrupt other neighbours - it's not just a case of a neighbour occasionally playing loud music at night, it's regular loud banging on the walls and floor in the early hours of the morning

My friend has reported it to @mhshomes, @medway_council and @kent_police, with no response so far other than repeated 'the investigation is ongoing, please keep reporting incidents'.

He first reported it to @mhshomes in August 2020. It's been 7 months.

Obviously if he has to move he will, but the cost of removals and redecorating will probably be around £700, which he doesn't have spare, plus the stress of packing everything up and moving, which is hard enough when you're feeling strong, but almost impossible when you're...

...having a mental health crisis.

He shouldn't have to move. He's done nothing wrong.

We were hoping @mhshomes could provide temporary accommodation while they resolve the issue, since we've ended up having to pay for an airbnb to keep my friend safe.

However, despite the fact they state in their Anti-Social Behaviour, Harassment and Hate Crime Policy that...

...'Our aim is to resolve instances of ASB as quickly as we can but sometimes we may have to move the complainant to temporary or alternative accommodation whilst the issue is resolved', the @mhshomes representative we spoke to this morning said that it's actually the council...

...who would need to provide the accommodation, and that they probably won't provide it unless the police tell them someone is threatening to kill my friend, or the Community Mental Health Team writes a letter recommending it.

Here is @mhshomes anti-social behaviour policy btw https://www.mhs.org.uk/policies/anti-social-behaviour-harassment-and-hate-crime-policy/

I'm just tired. Every person we call seems to say we need to talk to someone else before they can do anything to help, despite the urgency of the situation.

I'm tired, and I've only been dealing with this for a few days. My friend's been dealing with it for months.

So we phoned @kmptnhs on Friday through the Single Point of Access, which apparently 'provides a route to obtain urgent advice to patients in urgent situations'. We explained the situation, that my friend was suicidal, had been discharged from hospital, and they...

...said they'd refer him and a nurse would phone back in 72 hours to do the assessment, except it might be longer than 72 hours because they've had so many referrals lately.

72+ hours! For someone who is suicidal!

I'm sure all the staff are working very hard but again, the system is not working.

They didn't call today, which means it's been over 72 hours. My friend is still suicidal.

We phoned @InsightIAPT about the talking therapy they provide through the NHS, and after speaking to my friend and realising how suicidal he was, they emphasised that they're not a crisis service and that we should phone @kmptnhs through the Single Point of Access again to try...

...to speak to a nurse. We phoned, they repeated that they have lots of referrals at the moment and couldn't say when a nurse would be able to phone us.

In the meantime, they recommended we phone @InsightIAPT about talking therapy

We're literally just going round and round in circles

Also apparently @InsightIAPT can only provide 6 counselling sessions through the NHS, which is a joke, although not a very funny one

Severe depression cannot be treated in 6 counselling sessions. That's barely enough time to get to know your counsellor or give them your history.

Some good news, though: he has some funding through work to cover 3 months of therapy, and we've started to reach out to therapists.

Again, 3 months isn't much, but hopefully it'll help him manage his depression if it can't treat it.

I don't think he's really going to get much better until he has adequate housing again though.

This is really starting to take a toll on my own mental health it's awful reaching out for help over and over again and finding nothing

Just feeling really really sad and exhausted

did I mention I feel very tired and sad

Update: it's been 2 weeks since we initially phoned the @kmptnhs mental health crisis line saying my friend was suicidal. After originally telling us a nurse would try to call him back within 72 hours, they eventually phoned him once, 8 days later...

...and he missed the call, because he was asleep.

They claim they again phoned him the following day, but he has no missed calls from that day.

After phoning him only twice, they referred him to the community mental health team, who discharged him to his GP, without ever speaking to him.

We've just phoned them again and they've said they'll call him back either this evening or tomorrow, at some point between 7am and 11pm.

Not entirely sure why @kmptnhs think it's reasonable to expect a severely mentally ill person to stay awake and next to their phone for 16 hours, when most mental illnesses cause disturbed sleep patterns, but we don't have a choice right now.

We've also spoken to @mhshomes today, who repeated that they're still investigating and are looking into their legal options - so basically, the same thing they've been saying for months.

Apparently they might be able to move my friend into alternative accommodation within their housing stock, if the community mental health team said he urgently needed to move.

Unfortunately, the community mental health team discharged him without ever speaking to him.

@mhshomes also told us that @medway_council advised them that my friend could speed up his housing application by uploading photo ID and proof of address - none of which he can access, because they're in his flat, which he can't be in without becoming suicidal.

It feels so hopeless. He's been suicidal for over 2 weeks now, and the only help we've received is an increase in his medication and a letter from his GP to help his housing application (which they expect him to pick up from the GP surgery, which he can't, because he's not...

...at home atm, because being at home makes him suicidal).

I've already made one complaint to PALS about @kmptnhs and they said they'd get the crisis team to phone my friend, except his phone hasn't rung and he has no missed calls on the date they said they rang.

Not sure I have the energy to make another complaint.

Again, if anyone's able to retweet this thread who hasn't already, would really appreciate it, because applying external pressure is basically the only option we have left now.