Address: Drayton High Road, Hellesdon, Norwich, NR6 5BETelephone: 01603421421Website: www.nsft.nhs.uk/
Feedback
235 responses from the local community
The system is broken
1
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
Bury south IDT reception take calls and say they are not a crisis service despite not being qualified to make such comments. This is a throw away comment to get patients off the phone and prevent them calling back as they are not providing the right support for unwell patients
Failed by mental health services for last 30 years they always say their learn from mistakes which they never do ,Dr should be investigated suppose to be a profession in bpd etc ,rediagnosed me in one 20min appointment after years of being diagnosed with schizophrenia, by 8 different phychiatrists ,since diagnosing me now with bpd they them drop me like an old rag ,the reason being they haven't a clue
After 2 years of asking for help (with a SMI diagnosis that anywhere else in the country would mean you would get help) I have received none and no longer see any point in life. Even when I shared that feeling nothing happened. It's dangerous to interact with the NSFT - they also take notes down wrong and record the most basic of things inaccurately. I was better before I started asking for help. I'm left with nowhere to turn.
My feebback is with regards to the adolescent psychiatry available at Thurlow House, Kings Lynn, not Thurlow House itself, and the availability anywhere within the trust . My 15 year old son is diagnosed with ADHD, Dyspraxia, Sensory Issues, Severe Anxiety and OCD. He has also been accepted by the neuro developmental service to be assessed for Autism. His OCD is a fairly new addition and he was seen by camhs for this a few weeks ago and is receiving therapy. He has been suffering terribly with his mental health, believing on occasion, that everyone around him is not real and that we all want him dead. In fact, I even brought him up to A&E a couple of months ago during the night, as he was pacing for 2 hours, refusing to lay down because he thought if he fell asleep he would die, and that's what we all wanted. We waited 2 hours in a room and were told that he was medium risk, so he would be admitted shortly and seen by an adolescent psychiatrist in the morning. A while later we were told there wasn't a bed and we may as well go home. I agreed as he had calmed a lot during the wait. I asked if I should bring him back in the morning to be seen by the psychiatrist, but was told no, if he got worse we should ring a helpline! Really??
Going back to Thurlow House, once my son was seen by the therapist, it was agreed that the therapist would speak with the team about getting him a full psychiatric review. The team agreed that my son needed this and an appointment was made for Tuesday 4th July. However, the psychiatrist called in sick on the day, and no new appointment could be made as she is leaving next week. She was the only adolescent psychiatrist for the whole building and only worked part time too! Now there is no psychiatrist and no one to take her position. Does this mean my son no longer needs this review? Of course not, he will just continue to deteriorate, I assume, with many other children who badly need help from a more qualified member of staff. I have asked if my son can be seen elsewhere, but have been informed it's the same situation all over the trust. This is not good enough. My son has already lost his childhood, his formative teen years and any kind of life. He sees no one, talks to no one, goes nowhere and cannot have anyone come to the house. This is no life. And for his one opportunity to be reviewed and possibly given medication to enable him to do the simple things that all other 15 year old do, is criminal. I will be taking this further.
My sister was removed from hospital without seeing a doctor or psychiatrist after receiving two major head injuries without having a scan. She can’t close one eye after this happened. She was moved to respite where her social worker bought her a boot full of valuables from her storage soon after she was dumped in Suffolk with broken hands, wrists, feet, skull and other broken bones all untreated. After months of complaining I’ve got nowhere and still in shock.