Bury South Integrated Delivery Team (IDT) - Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

Care co failed to stick by their words. Failed to continue therapy with me. Discharged me with no good reason. Even after 2 recent failed suicide attempts and threatening to attempt it again.

My daughter has a care co-ordinator who rarely keeps the very few appointments that she makes and never fulfills promises. If you have no relationship with the person at the gateway of your recovery it makes the journey more dangerous, more solitary and more likely to end badly.

They fill you with hope by telling you everything you need to get yourself together and that they can give you all this but it’s the same old same old stick you on some chemicals and shove you in the corner to be forgotten. Complaining is frowned upon and the more humane and helpful members of staff don’t seem to stay long.

Rejected for mental health assessment without being told why. Not given any alternative or redirected anywhere else, except told to go private.

People here are not interested in individuals. A consultant kept telling me over and over that there are huge amounts of people waiting to access the service and it would be months before I even saw a coordinator because there are so many other people waiting. The receptionists are incredibly rude. The building is old and uncomfortable. An awful experience and I've been trying to get help for 2 years. Consultant asked me why I still needed help when I'd managed for 2 years. Clueless.

Offered cbt with asst psychologist had one session then couldn’t engage so I was offered parent led 8 week intervention with (name removed) which was fantastic.

None-Judgemental, fantastic ADHD Nurse. Very understanding and made my son feel extremely comfortable during his first assessment.

I have been under this service for 7 years, under the "youth pathway" unfortunately my story is confusing but more common than you think.
When I became very very unwell I need a stay in an adolescent psychiatric hospital. Unfortunately I had to wait 5 weeks for a bed due to an incompetent psychiatrist from this team. I had an appointment with this psychiatrist whom viewed my case, never meeting me before and simply said "nope she doesn't need hospital" he had failed to read my notes though as a locum psychiatrist whom was due to take on my case, had already refered me THE DAY BEFORE. I ended up in A&E that night and it was decided that I definitely needed an admission. Unfortunately due to the incompetent psychiatrist earlier that day, the bed search took 5 weeks. All of those weeks were spent watched 24/7 by mother, I wasn't allowed to school... In my GCSE year. Fortunately I received a bed finally, not far too from home and spent 6 months there.(I was one of the lucky ones being closer to home but there was talk of me going to Manchester or Wales). The locum doctor who took over my case was extraordinary though, seeing me 3 times a week. But he also informed me that if I was sent over an hour away from home I would be sectioned. I believe this psychiatrist was so good was because he was a locum, he wasn't really connected with the team.
Many professionals stated after that admission that it saved my life and I wouldn't be here without that. They're completely true. In those 5 weeks beforehand, my life was at risk which wouldn't have happened without the incompetent doctor who should've read my notes before even seeing me.
As a service user I have also often felt belittled and ignored, on more occasions than I can explain.
In the 7 years I have been with the service I have NEVER had therapy. Instead I have just been pushed onto various medications. In fact, as a 14 year old the first ever appointment I had with them, I was placed onto pills.
I have had YEAR LONG waits to see a psychiatrist for a review and often go 6 weeks without any correspondence with my Care-coordinator. Even if my education settling or parents have been ringing them up, telling her I need to be seen.
I was actually asked to write a letter last year to our local MP, detailing my experience with NSFT and I'd be happy to share this. It goes into full details of the failing in my care under NSFT. The failings not only I have received.
I know for a fact that my care-coordinator didn't write notes on me, she'd often states "Oops I haven't done your notes from last time". That is negilence, and could lead to serious trouble, especially with a patient whom has a history of suicidal actions.
Most of the psychiatrists I've met (9 in total) have been appalling besides two, the locum I mentioned earlier and a different one for under 18s. The other 7 have been rude, very very patronising and have given the impression that they just don't care.
Appointments are supposed to last an hour too, as stated on letters, you're lucky if they last longer than 15 minutes.
You can guaranteed that you'll hear "if you were that desperate to die, you would've done it by now and succeeded". Also I've been told "your self-harm isn't worrying enough yet".
I had the same care coordinator for 7 years and quite simply, I think she got bored of "dealing with me".
The receptionists are lovely though.

By the way in which I have been spoken to, belittled, and been "treated" it's not surprise that my mental health has deteriorated. As has my physical health, as a result of my eating disorder, something that has never been fully addressed. "Your weight isn't below a bmi of 14, so we aren't too concerned just yet." Really? Self-harm has continued to worsen but it's not "worrying enough" so I am left to my own devices regarding it.

A service that is supposed to help you in your darkest of times? Non existant. If you want to be made to feel worse about how you're feeling? This is the right service.

It has made me emotional writing this as there as so many more things I could add, but I haven't got all day. No-one should ever receive care like this, there is just no compassion and care, lives are put at risk. No care is put into the thought that the ignorance and incompetence is genuinely and scarily, risking peoples lives. I know caseloads are increasing and the service is more in demand but it doesn't cost to show a little more compassion and to not say direct, negative comments that really do hurt.
An absolutely appalling service.

(If Healthwatch Suffolk wish to read the letter I wrote to our local MP, I'd be more than happy to share it.)

Apart from one professional who cared for my patients wellbeing and took seriously my concerns, the needs of my patients were not met. No service to support my patient adequately and psychologically was offered. Simply holding people and asking questions around risk does not support recovery and does not increase wellbeing or a sense of hope. Reception staff are not trained well for customer service in acute and frustrating situations or appear to have interest in knowing or understanding basics in dealing with people who are unwell or professionals who try and get their patients help desperately. Every time I tried to escalate to the mental health services in this region my patients were not listened to or attempts made to create a care plan with actual therapeutic content whilst the explanation was made at each contact that there was nothing they could offer. It’s absolutely unacceptable that people in crisis and need are told no help was out there. It’s playing with peoples lives in life/death situations. It’s upsetting. Mental health services with waiting lists over a year for therapy, no ‘ service provided with the knowledge of the client groups needs and issues’ as a basis for intervention and approaches across the different layers of service provision is basically a waste. It’s not effective. It’s like knowing someone needs a mri to look inside of the injury and an operation to fix it but there are no mri machines and no one to do the operation and so instead patients are simply being given a bed ( if they are lucky) and after a week sent home with no intervention or just receive phone calls to see if anything has changed. Wouldn’t do it with physical injuries and illness why is mental health ‘treated’ like this?

The consultants were rude and inconsiderate. The coordinators do not have the time to speak to me, they make snap judgements in the short time they have whilst their mind is on the next patient. I haven't had any kind of support that I badly needed.