"My carers experience and support from carers time to talk"

My Daughter was brought in hospital under section 3, no warning was given (she was very unwell). I cannot fault the care she received staff were very helpful. But from a carers point of view we should be able to understand more such as how the care is organised and I did feel it would have been helpful to talk to people who had similar experiences. So when I heard about the Highbury Hospital Carers time to talk I came along to find out if it was helpful; and I was glad that I came. Not only to talk to other carers but to have a chance to discuss problems that sometime arose with staff members; who understood the background to some of my problems.

How the Carers time to talk supported me:

We were able to discuss how we feel about our situation and how best to help our love ones. This help to gain some understanding of how treatment plan is establish and how it works.

When I first came I was quite unsure to what to expect but I soon began to get to know the people there. Now I am more able to share experiences and anxiety in a safe setting. The discussions that I had with Rene (peer support worker, time to talk lead), he encouraged me to think in different ways of how I cope with my challenges.