Address: Drayton High Road, Hellesdon, Norwich, NR6 5BETelephone: 01603421421Website: www.nsft.nhs.uk/
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231 responses from the local community
Poor communication
2
Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff8th November 2024
I've been on the waiting list with the community mental health team for at least 18 months and I've not even been told what I'm waiting for. It's poor communication in general. I have welfare check phone calls which I've asked to be at set times because they were just random before which isn't good when you're not feeling well. It's always a different person so I have to keep explaining everything over and again. It's not great. Sometimes they sound like they're paying attention, other times they're obviously not. I need psychiatric medication but my GP can't prescribe it and I'm waiting to be assessed so I can have it prescribed. I don't know how long that will be. Why can't they let the GP prescribe it for a short period and monitor me while I'm waiting? My wife also really needs help but she won't have anything to do with NSFT because of how they've been in the past. She waited years to be seen, missed one call that wasn't scheduled and was taken off the list and told she'd have to go through everything again. These calls aren't from registered numbers and you don't know when they will happen, they're from unknown numbers or random mobiles. Some staff clearly do want to help but they're stuck in a system where they can't. I was turned down for counselling two years ago, they said I didn't need it because I hadn't cried enough in the assessment! I'm just not that sort of person, I've been masking for years, people deal with things in different ways and they should know that.
Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff29th October 2024
I've used Gateway House and they've been really, really brilliant. I was happy with the medication they gave me and I've recently been discharged from the service which I'm pleased about.
WEST NSFT CHATTERTON HOUSE - Absolutely abysmal, they don’t care, they don’t give you any treatment. They are totally useless
1
Submitted by Anonymous14th October 2024
I have long term
PTSD, BPD, Psychosis, Anxiety & Depression. I had a mental health nurse come out to see me, I was promised I would never have to go to Chatterton House after horrendous problems in the past. My mental Health Nurse, brought a manager out to see me, I found her very rude and she insisted I went to Chatterton House to go to a peer support group. I go to pieces in groups and have had experience of Peer Support and end up feeling sorry for the person which doesn’t do me any good. They said if I didn’t go I would be discharged. No other treatment was offered. The CPN, had asked that I see a lady Psychiatrist after seeing a Nurse Practitioner in an online meeting with a Nurse Practitioner Stuart who is used in my part of West as a Psychiatrist, which in itself is wrong. He hadn’t looked at any of the paperwork sent in, he got me to tell him my life story from the age of 3 I was in bits after the meeting ended. He never looked at us once all we saw was from his nose upwards. After the meeting I stuck a knife in my arm the only thing that stopped me harming more was my PTSD dog came over to me and looked at me. I couldn’t stop the bleeding as I’m on blood thinners, I had to go to my Surgery to have the wound dressed. I was also seen by one of the Red Coats who spent a long time with me. She arranged calls for the following week.
The mental health nurse told me she had been told to discharge all the people she speaks to on the phone. I also asked her who the Clinical lead was and she told me she didn’t know and I then found out it was the manager who had been out to see me!!! I was told by the mental health nurse that West only had a Crisis line from 9am until 9 pm, I was never given the number. I have since found out from an adult services manager from Chatterton that after 9 pm the Norwich 24/7 line take over. I have been told the system that is being used right across the NSFT area is to allow 4 home visits and then offer something like peer support and if you can’t go and say why they discharge you. I have only just received a discharge letter today 14/10/24 my GP hadn’t even had one. I was told the discharge letters should be sent out before the discharge date.
My experience with West NSFT is horrendous and has left me wanting to end my life. I wish they would disband the NSFT and split it back into two again. It was much better. A lot has been lost with the amalgamation.
Offer limited support .
Make you feel belittled , stupid and stigmatised. Feel hopeless of receiving support .
Tried complaints- you are further stigmatised.
My now 8 year old has been waiting near 2 years for therapy to
Restart after the worker left suddenly and apparently no one can take over. An 8 year old who has their whole life ahead is left to suffer crippling anxiety, unable to leave the house. Has no enjoyment in life. It’s disgusting. No other services can help temporarily as we are still under this useless team!
Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff1st March 2024
My daughter is about to fail her GCSEs which she has the ability to attain the top marks in because I can't get her the support she needs. Her GP, school and voluntary support workers all recognise she has ASD but the waiting list is 4 years. It shouldn't be like this, a child shouldn't have to wait when the impact on their life is so great. Now she probably won't be able to go on to her A-levels as well as all the emotional damage that has been done.
We had to get her a private ASD assessment in the end as it felt too critical. This showed she also has high levels of depression and anxiety but the GP can't prescribe anything as CAMHS have to sign it off. CAMHS won't even let my daughter go on their waiting list as she's not immediately suicidal. There's hardly any services offering counselling for children and the costs for private sessions are very high. I used my savings paying for the assessment.
We began the EHCP process and had to wait about 18 months to 2 years just to see an Ed Psych.
The system feels completely broken, stretched beyond capacity when there's desperate need and you can't access it. You can't wait years when a child only has a certain amount of time to get through their education.
Individuals we've seen have been good, everybody has done their part and they're also frustrated. It shouldn't be like this when the impact to life is so great.
Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff23rd February 2024
I'm 59 years old and have struggled for a long, long time. My whole life has been difficult and I've only just been diagnosed with CPTSD, EUPD and ASD. I feel like opportunities have been missed lots of times and my life could have been so much better.
Submitted by Feedback collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff31st January 2024
My teenage child needed support as they have come out as transgender. There has been no support yet as they are on the CAMHS waiting list and have been told that they need a diagnosis from CAMHS before other services can see them. We were told that it was a two and a half year wait, I have phoned up but they just say that they're still on the list. But it's not their fault and everyone I have spoken to on the phone has been lovely.
Waiting lists which fail individuals and their families - emphasis on signposting to services which do not exist or are unequipped to deal with risk and people die