"Negative Mental Health Support"

About: Whytemans Brae Hospital / Adult mental health

(as a service user),

My mental health has been horrific for years but has gotten worse since having children. I have reached out to receive support multiple times and then gotten a bit better but needed help again.

I attended an appointment with a nurse and was told that I’m going round in circles and they asked what I was expecting to get in I felt, a horrible tone. I have been suicidal and coming to these appointments takes a lot of courage and to not feel supported is awful.

I can’t fault every other nurse I have ever seen as they have been fantastic but this particular member of staff has made me feel like a time waster and that be basically can’t be bothered supporting me.

What’s the point in training to be a mental health worker if you struggle to support the mentally unwell? 

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Responses

Response from Siobhan Mcilroy, Head Patient Experience, Corporate Services, NHS Fife 12 months ago
Siobhan Mcilroy
Head Patient Experience, Corporate Services,
NHS Fife
Submitted on 28/02/2024 at 13:42
Published on Care Opinion at 13:42


picture of Siobhan Mcilroy

Dear sunex45

My name is Siobhan McIlroy and I am the Head of Patient Experience. NHS Fife welcomes all feedback, so thank you for taking the time to post on Care Opinion. I am sorry for the delay in you receiving a response.

I am sorry to hear that you have been unwell over recent years with your mental health and that you did not feel supported during your appointment. That must have been very upsetting for you. This is not the level of care we want or expect for our patients and I am sorry this happened to you.

It would be good if I could explore this further with you and have a chat. If this is something you would be happy to do and would find useful please send me an email and I can give you a call back. My email address is siobhan.mcilroy@nhs.scot. Please put "negative mental health support" in the subject heading as Care Opinion is anonymous.

Thank you again for sharing your story, and I am sorry this has been your experience.

Best wishes and take care, Siobhan

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Response from Theresa Rodigan, Senior Administrator, Patient Experience Team, NHS Fife 12 months ago
Theresa Rodigan
Senior Administrator, Patient Experience Team,
NHS Fife
Submitted on 28/02/2024 at 14:09
Published on Care Opinion at 14:09


picture of Theresa Rodigan

Posted on behalf of Deon Loudon, Clinical Services Manager

Dear sunex45

My name is Deon Loudon and I am a Clinical Services Manager for Adult Mental Health Services. Thank you for taking the time to post your feedback about experience of a mental health appointment recently. I am so sorry this was your experience, and this does not reflect the high quality of care and support we wish to provide for people experiencing mental health difficulties who reach out to our services. Whilst I cannot determine from your post which area of our services this relates to, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss your concerns further and would be grateful if you could contact my personal assistant Deborah Rodgers on 01592 643355 Ext. 23964 to arrange a suitable time to contact you. Thank you for your positive feedback about your previous experiences which reflects the standards we want to maintain for all contacts. It would be really helpful if I could talk with you about your experience in order to ensure we address learning opportunities for staff.

Thank you again for sharing your story.

Deon

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