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Care Opinion

No care and compassion in A and E and lack of communication

Posted By Sadlady

"No care and compassion in A and E and lack of communication"

About: Haven House Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust - Queen's Medical Centre Campus / Accident and emergency Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

(as a service user),

Attended apt with CPN in early May.. She wrote me a plan to follow if I felt worse over weekend. Followed plan. Rang Crisis Team around 11. 30 that night and they told me to go to A and E if I felt worse. Arrived at A and E (QMC) at approximately midnight with written note stating I was hearing voices, unable to speak, suicidal etc etc. Saw triage and asked to have blood test. Taken to another area where I hid behind a chair. Staff started shouting at me and telling me to get up, asked me my name and took me to cubicle for blood test. Gave lady my note and she said "how can people help you if you won't speak". She then tutted and said my veins were tricky. Then taken on bed and left in middle of A and E. next thing I remember I was sitting on concrete ledge on the bridge outside A and E not holding onto the railings, legs dangling over the drop. Don't know how I got there. Realised I had wet myself. Eventually 2 security guards hauled me over the railings to safety.

One of the security guards said he would try and find a lady to sit with me as I had been talking about past abuse (can't remember that either). Was taken to interview room to wait DPM. Security guard couldn't find a lady so sat in the corridor outside the room. Waited hours in this room alone. Not one member of staff checked on me, searched my bag or asked if I had harmed myself. Eventually lady from DPM came and asked me some questions. It seemed like she didn't even want to be there. She rang Haven House but it was full. She told me to go home and Crisis Team would ring me later that day.

As I was leaving the security guard asked the DPM lady why she was letting me leave after what had happened on the bridge. The lady said she knew nothing about it. The security guard tried to stop me leaving asking the DPM lady again if I could go. She said yes and I left.

The only care and compassion I received was from the security guard. I know A and E is overstretched but there was no trauma led or informed care by anyone that night. I felt that I had managed to carry out the Crisis plan by CPN had written but that this was a waste of time. I left feeling totally hopeless and invalidated and terrified and in a much worse state than when I had arrived.

Luckily I got a place in Haven House on the following Tuesday and the staff there were caring, compassionate, validating and truly amazing.

I do not want a response from the last person from Queens that left me an email address after my last complaint a year ago as I emailed her 3 times and she never replied.

I feel that something needs to be done regarding trauma led, trauma informed, trauma specific services and care and compassion in the MH service in general.

I would appreciate a reply as to why the incident on the bridge was not passed on to the DPM. Why I was left alone in a room for hours? And how there will be an improvement regarding the treatment of trauma survviors in the Mh system.

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Responses

Response from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust 6 years ago
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 30/05/2017 at 08:07
Published on Care Opinion at 08:17

I’m very sorry to hear about your experience in our Emergency Department. I have shared this feedback with the Matron of the Emergency Department, who is keen to investigate these concerns for you. However, you mention that you would like a response from someone else. Would you like to get in touch with us in the Patient Experience team initially so we can begin to look into what happened with your care? You can reach us on 0115 924 9924 ext. 66623 or you can email QMCPET@nuh.nhs.uk.

With kind regards,

Sarah Kennedy.

Patient Experience Officer.

Response from Ruth Gadd, Operational Manager-Mid-Notts and Bassetlaw, Millbrook Mental Health Unit, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 6 years ago
Ruth Gadd
Operational Manager-Mid-Notts and Bassetlaw, Millbrook Mental Health Unit,
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 19/06/2017 at 13:19
Published on Care Opinion at 16:11

Dear Sadlady

Firstly I would like apologise for the delay in a response to your care opinion post, this has just come to attention following the response from Sarah Kennedy, the Patient Experience Officer at NUH.

Secondly thank you for sharing your experience, it sounds as though this was a traumatic experince for you, especially if you needed not to attend in the first place. The Emergency Department is not a therapeutic environment for patients experiencing mental health distress.

I am particularly interested to know why you were advised by the Crisis Team to attend A +E if you felt worse, unless there was a physical health concern involved.

I will investigate why information wasn't passed on to the DPM team, but I will need more information from yourself in order to progress this, as well as why you were advised to attend A+E in the first instance, I do hope you feel able to discuss this with me.

I am pleased to hear you had a positive experience in Haven House, and I will ensure your comments are passed on to the team there.

It sounds like you were highly distressed when you called the Crisis Team, it is unfortunate that there were no beds at Haven House available at that point, I do hope this was explored though? This brings me on to mention your Crisis Care plan. In the past I have suggested to patients that it may be helpful to use their Crisis plans more robustly to include early warning signs as a better way to manage their distress/crisis which could involve an admission to Haven House. I apologise if this has already been included in your Crisis plan, but I am happy to discuss if this is something you would find helpful and in collaboration with your CPN.”

I will also share your experience with the DPM team, this will be helpful in identifying any future learning within their team and the Emergency Department Staff.

Once again thank you for taking the time to share your story on care opinion. My contact details are below.

Kind regards

Ruth

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Sadlady (a service user)

Hi Ruth

Thanks for the reply.

I would like to discuss this with you but you have not left me your contact details. I rang the Crisis Team again last night (distressed but with no physical illness) and once again they advised me to go to A and E. Obviously after my last 2 complaints on this site I feel unable to do this.

I have got a very specific Crisis Plan that I wrote together with my wonderful CPN.

I would also like to advise you that people are only allowed to be admitted to Haven House 4 times per year now. I was in Haven in February and May and so only have two stays left this year.

Could you send me your contact details please as I would like to discuss this with you in more detail?

Response from Ruth Gadd, Operational Manager-Mid-Notts and Bassetlaw, Millbrook Mental Health Unit, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 6 years ago
Ruth Gadd
Operational Manager-Mid-Notts and Bassetlaw, Millbrook Mental Health Unit,
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 19/06/2017 at 16:57
Published on Care Opinion on 20/06/2017 at 09:07

Apologies for this oversight, here are my contact details.


Ruth Gadd-Service Manager
Highbury Hospital

Tel 0115 9691300 ex 12318
mobile-077704 92588
email: ryth.gadd@nottshc.nhs.uk
  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Ruth Gadd, Operational Manager-Mid-Notts and Bassetlaw, Millbrook Mental Health Unit, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 6 years ago
Ruth Gadd
Operational Manager-Mid-Notts and Bassetlaw, Millbrook Mental Health Unit,
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 25/07/2017 at 13:29
Published on Care Opinion at 16:58

Dear Sadlady,

Thank you for agreeing to meet with me and your CPN yesterday, I felt that the meeting was positive and we agreed on some actions to take forward. The actions are mainly to support you better before you experience a Crisis.

The first action was for you and your CPN to work together to develop a clearer pathway in to Haven House, as an early intervention measure as opposed to waiting for a crisis (which you identified as being unhelpful at times) and may prevent a future attendance at the Emergency Department.

The second point of action is for me to feedback to a staff member about how you found her manner, support and advice very helpful, during a telephone conversation in the middle of night. You were extremely keen to express how positive and helpful you found this support.

The third action was for you and your CPN to explore training opportunies for staff that are trauma focussed, in particular telephone responses to patients who may be experiencing high levels of distress that are due to trauma based experience/s in their past.


Once again thank you for taking the time to meet with me yesterday and wish you well with your ongoing recovery.

Please don't hesitate to contact me again if you have any other queries about our meeting.
Kind regards
Ruth

Tel 0115 9691300 ex 12318
mob: 077704 92588
email: ruth.gadd@nottshc.nhs.uk
  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Sadlady (a service user)

Thanks Ruth. Yes I found the meeting positive and I'm glad you took my points on board and we developed an action plan. I do also hope that better communication can be had between A and E staff and the DPM.

I also had an email on behalf of Jane Newton who also said that processes were being put in place for communication between A and E staff and the DPM.

Thanks again

Kathy

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