NHS treatment of teens with mental issues - National disgrace

We were told about five years ago that the funding for mental health is so low that CAMHS only have the capacity to deal with life or death situations. Even then they were struggling. That was for all mental health issues.

I don't think its any better for adults. One of the adult helplines just disappeared here without any warning and no alternative.

Maybe speak to your MP. If its about funding then the health providers can't do much to produce extra funds. 

Hi, 

Very frustrating. My 12 year suffered in main stream school during his junior primary years being physically restrained on thirteen occasion. It took him 2 years to calm down and recover from them trauma he went through in primary. Thankfully he's now in special school being staffed by compassionate, understanding humans. 

I don't know what the future holds for our mental health services. In the borough that I live in the services are far worse for adults need than for children. It's so bad here that a lot of us adults are having to rely on local voluntary services for Heath care that the professionals in the NHS should be providing. 

Our helpful suggestions from CAMHS were:-

1. Phone the police and let them deal with your 14 year old son.

2. Phone social services and get him taken into care.

3. Go on parenting course to learn how to discipline your child.

But Robert it shouldnt go that far? If a parent is saying that things are at a crisis point then something should be done. Its no good saying "Oops missed that one" afterwards!!!!

Im not sure if it is just budgets. There are people I've met who just dont give a monkeys as long as they get to go home at 5pm and they're sure they wont get blamed if things go wrong.

Thats so awful but I can well believe it. Our NHS now seems populated with people whose first inclination is to make sure they cant get blamed for something. If they've passed it on then they dont care.

I’m so sorry. No wonder you are despairing. How hard that must be for you all. I do hope the team working with your daughter can help and that you are able to find some one to talk to. 

I don't want to sound callous and uncaring, but I suspect the issue is the law and budgets for different criteria.   If someone just threatens self harm.  They are considered a low priority.  If they actually self harm then money comes from a different budget to lock them up.

Is not just adults, support is lacking full stop. My daughter  14 with ASD became very unwell and started to self-harm. I kept phoning begging them for an early appointment with the psychiatrist but CAMS wouldn't listen they told me to ask her if she intended to end her life and to ask information about self-harming. I lived 14 days as a prisoner in my own home with doors and windows locked to prevent my daughter from absconding. When she finally managed to carry out her thoughts she was sectioned and locked up. How is that for support? I have lost all faith in the medical profession.

I went to see the cmht for assessment recently and was told that because I had formal diagnosis of asd, adhd and Dcd/dyspraxia that help wouldn’t be available to me. It seems mental health support is so bad in my area , depression and anxiety and suicidal thoughts aren’t enough you have to be literally following through on those thoughts and without that intention they won’t see you. I was told that cmht nurses are leaving in droves and the provision just isn’t there. I’d sort of gathered this from what others had said on this forum but I was still shocked. And so as Robert has said support for adults is lacking. I don’t know about A&E or out of hours services. 

I'd be concerned for the future of this country if it was like this everywhere...... :-(

Im hoping its just this one local unit - I do plan to complain.

Could be a local problem.  Senior staff being only interested in their own specialty.

Like when I was in hospital. My consultant was a cancer specialist. (I looked him up on the internet).  So he suspected cancer, wasn't cancer, so he lost interest.

Thats what they're trying to say. Initial appointment was for OCD and, at the time they queried aspergers. But its moved on from OCD it appears.

I think its appalling that as far as they are concerned it was a case of well, yes we'll help with ocd but anything else associated is not our problem.

If it's not their problem then who's is it

Maybe they are concentrating on other mental health issues rather than autism.

Hi Robert- maybe it varies in different areas? I hope its not a national problem.

Nope. I found the support to be appalling. I even told the CAMHS people that I was concerned about his wellbeing, others in the families wellbeing (inc his 4 year old sister( as well. I told them I wanted to raise this as a high priority because I didnt want something worse to happen which I could see.

All I got from CAMHS was a shrug and told nothing they can do to help. (and to phone the police!) Or a case of not our problem its someone else.

Very surprised at your post.  I was under the impression that adolescents are a priority.  It's the adults who are considered beyond help and neglected.