This Week in Mentalists (38)

It seems The Shrink has been shouting since 2.10am for a round-up. Therefore I need to do two things.

1. Arrange some zopiclone for The Shrink

2. Put together This Week in Mentalists.

Aethelred the Unread is hearing voices.

I find them disconcerting rather than scary or traumatic, and one or two of them (I sometimes hear the voice of my 6-years-dead dad, for example) are quite comforting, in a way. Sometimes I find them wryly amusing, as this time - I think I must have the soul of a chartered accountant in order to hallucinate, not exciting messages of global significance from the Great Sky Spirit, but rather announcements about train delays…

Coloured Mind and Scattered Thoughts is in transition from CAMHS to adult services.

After much discussion they decided not to start the referral process until after results day so they knew which part of the country I would be in and I would get “continuity of care”. The problem is that on Friday I turn eighteen, it means that I am not supposed to be under the outreach team but crisis assessment and treatment team CATT. But me being the special person that I am, it’s not happening because I am staying under CAMHS for another month. The outreach team will receive less funding for me so my sessions are being cut, simple the answer to that is to have more CAMHS clinic sessions. And here we meet problem number two; my main CAMHS worker goes on holiday on Friday until September. I don’t want to see someone new for a month so again we are stuck. Somehow I have gone from too much support, to no support.

The Shrink notices some number-juggling in the Productive Ward scheme funding.

How much is to be spent of this programme? Why, quite a lot. £50 million. Cooo, that’s actually quite a big number, isn’t it? Our Secretary of State, Alan Johnson, said in a press release on the 8th May 2008 that the NHS will be investing £50 million in supporting the roll out of the Productive Ward programme. The letter I’ve had about it is titled, “£50 million to double the time nurses spend on patient care” which is awfully exciting. What can I say, I get excited easily. But really, £50 million national investment to allow nursing colleagues to do more nursing. Fantastic.

One teeny weeny fly in the ointment.

Yet what I read from our SHA is, “. . . we need to demonstrate that £50 million is being invested in implementing the Productive Ward initiative. Schemes may already be in place that count towards the investment target without the requirement to make additional funding of £50 million available.” Goes on to say that some PCTs will need to make available additional funding but that, “Any additional funding required should be made available from existing PCT 2008/09 resources.”

So, no extra cash at all, then

Mandy Lifeboats Ahoy comments on mental health and the arts.

Most Mental Health Trusts in the UK care nothing about the arts but spend a disproprtionate amount of money on a few kept artists and networkers to present themselves as taking the lead.

NHS MH Trusts taking the lead in the arts?

Nothing could be futher from the truth. Many Trusts are simply engaged in cynical self promotional activity.

Seaneen has feminist guilt.

I have Feminist Guilt about mental illness. I feel “wrong” for it. Firstly, women are historically not treated very well if they have a mental illness. In Victorian times, it was “hysteria”, in fact, any “immoral” behaviour was slapped as a deviancy. The same still applies to some degree- I know the toss has been argued here before about the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder by gender, but it is still mostly a Woman’s Illness, namely because the behaviour therein is more aberant for a woman to engage in.

Bipolar women are more generally acceptable than schizophrenic women (but this is true of men, too. Manic depression is a far more socially acceptable illness than schizophrenia, even though they overlap). The image of it has changed, though, as times wore on. Manic depression no longer represents the image of celebrated artists like Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf. It has reverted back to image of being a promiscuous, impulsive, irresponsible illness by way of Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse and Kerry Katona.

Mr Man’s Wife has been trying to arrange an emergency appointment.

She came back and explained that there “isn’t a real emergency” so Mr Man could come in and see Dr Hillary on Wednesday.

I accept that there are unavoidable circumstances which mean that Dr Hillary can’t be magically brought into work in a puff of smoke, but it’s that phrase “isn’t a real emergency” that bothers me – as if I’m being accused of overreacting again. I suppose she’s right; Mr Man hasn’t chopped his own head off and he hasn’t been running up and down the street naked screaming blue murder (subject to change). But really, those are the kind of emergencies where I would be looking for an immediate assessment to have him admitted into hospital, and it wouldn’t matter which doctor he saw. This situation is an emergency to us because we want to avoid a hospital admission.

Not Another Nursing Student is ignoring the smoking policy.

I went out with the Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN) today. By and large I enjoyed it, although I do now stink of smoke. Hence the post I started writing. It is my own fault; the patient asked if we minded her smoking - and to be honest it was knocking me a bit sick - but I just couldn’t bring myself to ask her not to smoke when I was a visitor in her house, even knowing I had the holy ‘policies and procedures’ on my side. So I said no, I didn’t mind. Overall, I would rather she felt comfortable talking to us. She was using an empty tin of corned beef hash as an ashtray. I didn’t even know they did corned beef hash in tins. I have learned something today.