Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT)
Feedback Rating
Based on 264 reviews
Reviews (264)
Find it a good service
May 25, 2016
Not been there recently.
Being on the other side
May 25, 2016
After years of being treated for depression and numerous different medications I am know being treated for Bipolar. The service was a bit unorganised at first but I can not fault the staff at St Catherines Gorleston the Home treatment team who have been lovely. I already knew some of their faces from looking after my son. Again I will say they have an upward battle. Why did Carlton Court get shut as families are having to travel further to see loved ones . It's upsetting for both. Yes I understand that sometimes it's for the better but it always comes down to money or lack of beds. That is not the staffs fault. It doesn't make sense and Mental Health issues are becoming more and more out there. More pressure is needed to make the higher rarky take note that this is not an overnight fix with human beings just like them and it still needs much more awareness of what people go through. It is so true like anything it is not until youself, a loved one or someone you know has been or are going through a crisis that you understand.
shocking at times because lack of communicati
May 25, 2016
Professionals were so busy, staff shortages and lack of beds. No consistency and where does the Triangle of Care come into this too. Communications between professionals and not looking at the bigger picture , not listening to those who are nearest. Letting an unwell patient into the community when the bed is needed. Not informing the family this is happening !!! . Calling to speak to the manager and phonecalls never returned. It took my loved one to have a terrible episode in 2015 to get the professionals to actually act upon it. I have had great support from carers forum and can not fault them but SOMEONE SOMEWHERE HAS TO REALISE HOW STRETCHED THIS SERVICE IS. My son managed to escape from an acute ward and to get on a plane to go abroad whilst under a section 3 and psychotic . How scary is that! !! thankfully the local Police were fantastic . The Gatwick Police managed to stop the plane whilst it was taxying ready for take off to LA and escorted him off. He was then transfered to Helleston where his journey of a recovery began.
Massively polarised experience. Worrying.
May 25, 2016
Limited accommodation of disabilities from care coordinator, and none for initially contacting care coordinator on referral, or crisis services - if you can't use a phone or get someone else to do it for you, you're going to have a hard time - although the individual staff who are in direct contact with patients in the latter group have generally tried their best.
The crisis team contact number can receive text messages as texts, precluding using their service provider's text-call service, but they have a policy of not reading or responding to them, and no email address or alternative direct contact information is provided.
When under the Wellbeing Service and seeing an NSFT professional for CBT, there were difficulties with diagnostic overshadowing, including them trying to address developmental and neurological disabilities as psychological/anxiety issues, and asserting that disclosed difficulties with this and with sensory problems must be lies to cover for anxiety, which, frankly, was always openly disclosed in the same manner. Attempts to seek advice on the situation from the professional who helps with the neurological issues and then raise this with the practitioner were apparently interpreted as 'splitting' until they finally made contact and received confirmation towards the end of the series of CBT sessions.
Care coordinator took several months' absence a few weeks after referral, had no specific person covering during the absence, provided no information to me about it despite stating they knew well enough in advance to arrange for letters to be sent to other patients, and became openly angry with me for suicide attempts and lack of knowledge of what to do to obtain help during this period when even other professionals I asked for advice did not know.
They gave self-contradictory advice including suggestions mutually exclusive with those of other professionals, and then indicated I should not have sought help during a difficult period because I hadn't already tried everything suggested to me; arranged a meeting with my GP to reassure her everything was in hand, both without checking she was actually able to attend at the specified time, and shortly before asking me to help transcribe the care and crisis plans we'd discussed 6 weeks prior because they couldn't read my hand-written notes and apparently didn't remember anything said or retain the notes they wrote at the same time. They told me off loudly for disclosing first too little and then too much, in the former case following an unplanned suicide attempt and in the latter following disclosures advised by my GP, without any clarification on where the relevant boundaries lie; and treated two crisis periods dismissively.
During the worse of these, they rejected the care suggestions of all other professionals in favour of non-intervention, and told me I did not need the medication I had then been using for over a year. I was "reassessed" and discharged less than a week after calling attention to the problematic aspects of this behaviour and the lack of disability accommodation. The associated conversation about conflicting advice was impressively futile.
The Recovery College staff, on the other hand, have been excellent - they are careful to address disability adjustments to the best of their abilities at the start of each session and provide alternative means of contact, really helpful in terms of identifying ways of coping or trying to sustain better periods, providing information on other sources to look at when encouraging independent research and experimentation to see what works for individuals, and intervening in a direct but respectful manner when attendees have used discussions as opportunities to promote their religious beliefs emphatically or enthusiastically to others.
I think the emphasis on involving current and past patients in producing RC materials has helped a lot with their understanding of where we are "coming from" generally, and the diversity of participants and peer supporters with diplomatic handling of the latter part specifically.
The crisis team contact number can receive text messages as texts, precluding using their service provider's text-call service, but they have a policy of not reading or responding to them, and no email address or alternative direct contact information is provided.
When under the Wellbeing Service and seeing an NSFT professional for CBT, there were difficulties with diagnostic overshadowing, including them trying to address developmental and neurological disabilities as psychological/anxiety issues, and asserting that disclosed difficulties with this and with sensory problems must be lies to cover for anxiety, which, frankly, was always openly disclosed in the same manner. Attempts to seek advice on the situation from the professional who helps with the neurological issues and then raise this with the practitioner were apparently interpreted as 'splitting' until they finally made contact and received confirmation towards the end of the series of CBT sessions.
Care coordinator took several months' absence a few weeks after referral, had no specific person covering during the absence, provided no information to me about it despite stating they knew well enough in advance to arrange for letters to be sent to other patients, and became openly angry with me for suicide attempts and lack of knowledge of what to do to obtain help during this period when even other professionals I asked for advice did not know.
They gave self-contradictory advice including suggestions mutually exclusive with those of other professionals, and then indicated I should not have sought help during a difficult period because I hadn't already tried everything suggested to me; arranged a meeting with my GP to reassure her everything was in hand, both without checking she was actually able to attend at the specified time, and shortly before asking me to help transcribe the care and crisis plans we'd discussed 6 weeks prior because they couldn't read my hand-written notes and apparently didn't remember anything said or retain the notes they wrote at the same time. They told me off loudly for disclosing first too little and then too much, in the former case following an unplanned suicide attempt and in the latter following disclosures advised by my GP, without any clarification on where the relevant boundaries lie; and treated two crisis periods dismissively.
During the worse of these, they rejected the care suggestions of all other professionals in favour of non-intervention, and told me I did not need the medication I had then been using for over a year. I was "reassessed" and discharged less than a week after calling attention to the problematic aspects of this behaviour and the lack of disability accommodation. The associated conversation about conflicting advice was impressively futile.
The Recovery College staff, on the other hand, have been excellent - they are careful to address disability adjustments to the best of their abilities at the start of each session and provide alternative means of contact, really helpful in terms of identifying ways of coping or trying to sustain better periods, providing information on other sources to look at when encouraging independent research and experimentation to see what works for individuals, and intervening in a direct but respectful manner when attendees have used discussions as opportunities to promote their religious beliefs emphatically or enthusiastically to others.
I think the emphasis on involving current and past patients in producing RC materials has helped a lot with their understanding of where we are "coming from" generally, and the diversity of participants and peer supporters with diplomatic handling of the latter part specifically.
It's a real support and helpful.
May 24, 2016
It's helping me see a brighter future as I've been in a pretty bleak place. The staff really know what they're talking about.
Symptoms of PTSD directly induced by the NSFT
May 23, 2016
Discharged in a vindictive manner during the throes of dissociative episodes, agoraphobia and chronic suicide ideation. When I queried why, I was told I was “abusive” to someone in my treatment. This was a malicious lie by the NSFT, totally slanderous, such an incident simply didn’t occur. It took 4 complaints for them to even semi-address the defamation on my medical records. When I was referred to the NSFT originally, I thought my life couldn’t get any worse (bear in mind I live with the grief of the death of a sibling, among many other things) and that I was going to be helped. On the contrary, I have spent far more time fighting these vile people and countering their malicious lies and gross ineptitude than receiving “treatment” and the NSFT has directly made my mental health issues far worse. It’s with the Ombudsman now.
Care Co's good. Out of hours terrible.
May 23, 2016
Individual care workers really helpful and concerned. Seem to be pressured to discharge quickly. Out of hours or 'crisis team' is horrendous. Sometimes no reply or has actually made me worse. Refusal to attend in A and E led to a serious manic reaction.
I have more insight now into my recovery
May 23, 2016
I understand more about human psychology and how to move forward in a positive way.
Very poor
May 23, 2016
An array of different 'experts' with conflicting diagnosis . Poor communication with family.
Initially, quite damaging.
May 23, 2016
Pre diagnosis, awful and for about five years was passed from service to service. This has had a detramental effect upon my depression, isolation, low self esteem and anxiety. Post diagnosis, finally excellent with good support from social worker, support worker and medical advocate, who without I would still be left alone and incapable of accessing a very complex system. My life remains on hold as I have a constant stream of endless appointments. Oh, how I wish for cohesion accross the services! Why don't people communicate any more?
