"Too many years waiting whilst getting more unwell"

The Complex Needs Service does have some promising aspects; in a group, the staff, and I dare say many of us patients too, are more polite and considerate, and it did touch the tip of the iceberg in terms of observing some of my behaviours.

But it was then rendered ineffective and practically useless by what I'm told was a policy change that saw me discharged from the service rather than introduced to it. It is the only therapy I have been offered for over a decade, it was approximately a 5 year wait this time - a 6-month course of group therapy, meeting once a week for a few hours.

Every consultant who has commented has told me I need more than six months of therapy. And this service was supposed to provide that, with the promise that there would be 3 groups I should try, and the possibility of joining the therapeutic community if things progressed.

I think that to trust any aspect of the NHS mental health service I would suggest is not only very difficult, but I dare also venture, unwise.