"Right to respect for community mental health service users "

Respect for service users?

I live in Coventry. I am known to have bipolar affective disorder and receive psychiatric services from Coventry & Warwickshire Partnership NHS mental health trust.

A little while ago I phoned West sector community mental health team CMHT. This team provide psychiatric care to me. I asked to speak to manager via mobile phone (my landline is not working currently).

I wanted to speak to them prior to bank holiday Monday break.

Finally around teatime the manager spoke to me briefly via mobile phone. They said they had been in meetings all day so could not talk to me earlier. My conversation focused entirely on why CMHT have decided staff treating me must visit me in pairs. I receive care services from social worker, community psychiatric nurse, support worker. I told manager I am not dangerous I do not carry a weapon. I feel uncomfortable knowing I can only be visited by minimum of 2 people. The visit feels formal rather then informal. In the event only one staff member is free to visit me I miss my scheduled visit from CMHT staff member.

On Friday afternoon managers reply via mobile phone perplexed me. It was a judgemental, discriminatory, unrefined, non empathetic response I received from the manager. 2 staff must visit you as staff report you give them different stories & you alter story. I asked manager what they meant. They told me you know what I mean. I asked if they meant I lied and he said yes. I told manager I didn't lie & to give me supporting evidence for their allegations together with name of staff making allegations. Manager made no response. I repeated my question & got no response. Manager then ended conversation.

I have decided to terminate my receipt of psychiatric service provision from Coventry & Warwickshire Partnership NHS trust West sector CMHT.

My GP agreed tonight to provide me with community based psychiatric services. This is to replace CMHT psychiatric services.

I have spoken to several organisations over last week in an attempt to determine my rights. Local police, local councillor, GP, RCN, A&E dept. The episode has distressed me considerably.

I attended my local psychiatric services to obtain psychological support, general daily living skills type advice, therapeutic recommendations, specific medication related advice.

I definitely didn't attend local psychiatric services to receive verbal abuse, false allegations & a severely heightened stress. I would have been in great difficulties if my local police had not stepped in to support me over the bank holiday weekend. I greatly appreciate the opportunity they gave me to be logical, reason & reflect with them regards current events. The police helped me put my life events in perspective.

In my opinion psychiatric patients should not be told they are liars, fraudulent, thief's on a friday afternoon on Friday immediately before bank holiday weekend. It is obvious mental health trained staff are going to be in short supply & GP'S on leave. This type of action is knowingly causing distress to patients; however it is also likely to increase use of A&E unit or local police service maybe psychiatric crisis team unit.