the stories

The quotes

Here are some quotes from those who have experienced the adult mental health services in Norfolk. These are sourced from the Health Watch Norfolk report and our own survey of the community. They show firsthand the effect that waiting times have on individuals suffering a mental health crisis. Scroll down to submit your own story.

Waiting

"Being told someone might do something 2 months down the line when you just wanna kill yourself right there is hard."

"I had to wait for about four months from the initial contact (whilst I was heading into the worst stage of my abusive relationship) to getting my first counselling session organised (over a month after the breakup). In short, it was simply not quick enough"

"I intervened because he [a friend] was in a state and took him to an emergency GP appointment where he was told to wake up earlier in the morning as a solution. He was on the verge of a suicide attempt, but we were told that all he could do was stay on the waiting list because no other help was available."

"A GP at the uni medical practice prescribed me anti-anxiety medication and told me the waiting lists were too long for talking therapy didn’t think a referral would do anything. The GP did not ask about what my mental health issues involved and why I had them because he only had a 10 minute slot - he just gave me tablets. They advised me that the only therapy available would be group talking therapy but the waiting list for this was also very high. I was advised to look into MIND but was told that the waiting lists were also very long so I wouldn’t be seen for months and I would have to pay."

"We waited for over six months when our son first became obviously mentally ill. It took our GP to ‘bump him up the system’ from Tier 1 to Tier 3 as he worsened considerably before he was seen. This made us and him feel worthless, increasingly worried and then angry at the lack of support and resources available."

Transported out of County

“My [relative] was sent to Manchester for over 3 weeks. I couldn’t visit and I had no contact to say what was happening.”

Missing Symptoms

“Originally when J was 18 a team came from Hellesdon hospital they decided me and J’s mum were suffering carers fatigue and there was nothing wrong with J. they totally missed his [psychosis] and he tried to petrol bomb his place of work within the month.”

"I was told by my GP that my self harm was 'not real self harm' when I was cutting myself with knives. I felt weak and let down."

Communication and Services

‘The hospital said I didn’t fit into the right category. They said ring the crisis team. But they just tell you ‘have a bath, have a cigarette’. I ring the Samaritans and I get the crap out of my head. I say – don’t ring the crisis team. I think the GP was going to do something after I left – he thought what’s the point of sending my patients there?”

"I spoke to them (a telephone appointment) about every issue I have and past traumatic experiences that I had never once said aloud. I was called back only to be told that my issues are too varied and complex to be dealt with by them. They sent me a few numbers that were either very specific to a single one of my problems or cost money. I felt very disheartened as it took a long time for me to build up the courage to talk about these issues and took a while to finally receive an appointment and I now had to go through it all over again. I still haven't contacted the other numbers as it is a difficult process and I don't know which ones to call. I would have to contact multiple services to cover all the different issues I want to tackle. I felt a little bit abandoned at this point and didn't know who to turn to."

"The NHS home treatment service and crisis team were excellent but getting taken seriously was a huge stumbling block in all honesty. The GP essentially did not believe I was in need of it. I severely was."

"Our experience was with CAHMS. It was very inconsistent and one-size-fits-all. Because our teenage son couldn’t engage with talking therapy, little else was offered. As a result, he has turned his back on any kind of therapeutic support as a young adult."

"GPs are asking people to self-refer to charities because the NHS is so understaffed and underfunded when it comes to mental health. This means the charities are trying to pick up the excess and people are slipping through the net."

"The GP I saw at the university's medical centre was horrible, he did not listen to me and dismissed me very quickly, I told him I was suicidal and he merely referred me to a website on "how to handle stress". It turns out what I was actually suffering from was PTSD. The Wellbeing team, on the other hand, was lovely...unfortunately I was taken off any waiting lists for PTSD treatment due to limitations in the treatment styles offered, and now I am in limbo...they have not left me with much choice and I just limbo through the days without any hope of treatment. Needless to say, my condition is worsening and I don't know what to do."

"We feel extremely frustrated that the help our son received was too little too late. Now society has another young adult unable to function fully and make a contribution, likely to be a drain on adult mental-health resources because he was failed in adolescence. Now there is so much talk about mental health, but so very much remains hidden: people like our son, supported by friends and family, but living in the shadows/on the margins. We fear for what the future holds for our boy."

Cost and Travel

"My biggest fear is that if the NHS was privatised or no longer existed as a free, state service, so many people wouldn’t have anywhere to turn to. Many more lives would be lost."

“No one [at NSFT] was aware of the situation he was going home to, which was far from ideal and detrimental to recovery. He lives on his own in an isolated rural area.”

“I need more support than once a week. It cost me £5 each time to get here I need to be [living] somewhere with access to services.”

"Not everyone can afford private care. Stuff needs to improve. It is common for people to think that those with mental health problems don't speak up. They do. They are constantly telling people how much they are hurting. There just aren't the services to help them"

‘they don’t have the funding to be empathetic and patience, because patience costs money and money is something the NHS don’t have’

Suicide

"Two years ago I got very low. I made an emergency appointment with my GP. She was so alarmed she made me wait in the surgery until they could get me some help. I went to the Fermoy [Kings Lynn unit] and sat down with nurses and I described my suicide plan. Then they gave me a paper to sign that said I had no suicide plan and they made me sign it."

"I attempted suicide in 2013 it took a year and a half before I got proper help.”

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