NI woman blasts mental health services
EXCLUSIVE By Richard Morgan
A County Armagh woman has branded mental health services as the 'Cinderella' of the health service.
Jane, whose name we have changed to protect her identity, suffered with severe depression following a stroke three years ago.
She was seen by a home crisis response team for 15 minutes every day, which she said was inadequate.
"I had home treatment on a daily basis for a few weeks but I wasn't getting better.
"There's a huge discrepancy between physical health and mental health services.
"Mental health is the 'Cinderella' of services here. There's a large number of people who are mentally unwell and there's still a huge stigma attached to that."
The mother was seen just hours before she attempted suicide earlier this year.
"I became suicidal, I attempted suicide and my family had already indicated to the home treatment team that I was deteriorating and people weren't listening to the family.
"It took something as drastic as that a suicide attempt which is appalling. We knew we needed the clinical help and we were just told there would be a wait of 3-4 months to get it.
Jane told Downtown & Cool FM her family felt there was a lack of communication.
"My family weren't actually given a lot of information and it was not checked if they understood my condition.
"They had no idea about severe depression and that led to a lot of distress and pain which wasn't necessary."
Jane received the treatment she needed and now sees herself as being fully recovered and is engaging once again with her family and the outside world.
"I think we've had to fight for psychology.
"I think there's a certain resistance to admit things could have been better. They need to listen to users and be open minded and not go on about a resource issue.
"The department do not have some of the resources they need. It's a big issue for them.
"There are huge waiting lists and we really had to plead for psychology and we only got it after the event and when I was discharged from an acute unit."
When we put the case to the Department of Health it issued a statement which said it is always trying to improve services.
"In 2013/14, £247m was invested in mental health services - an increase of £7m from 2012/13.
"The Department remains committed to improving mental health care in Northern Ireland, including access to psychological interventions and therapies.
"Increasing access to appropriate talking therapies in primary care, and ensuring mental health services are delivered in line with the Regional Mental Health Care Pathway (which was published last year) will help reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues and improve patient experience.
"The Department is leading work to ensure that resources are directed appropriately, fragmentation of services is reduced, and that the views and experiences of service users inform the future direction of mental health provision in Northern Ireland.”
If you have had an experience with mental illness and want to speak to us about it email news@downtown.co.uk