Staff are difficult, say service users

More than half of service users find their first meeting with
mental health professionals “difficult” and only one-fifth report
an overall positive experience.

A survey from mental health charity Rethink, released last week to
coincide with World Mental Health Day, calls for 24-hour access to
mental health professionals for everyone who needs the
service.

It reveals that more than one in four people were turned away by
mental health services and people with mental health problems can
wait for up to 18 months to receive help from mental health
professionals.

According to more than one in 10 people, staff were either
arrogant, emotionally cold, or did not take them seriously or did
not tell them what their diagnosis was.

One-fifth of service users with psychosis were afraid and nervous
during their first contact with mental health professionals.

The report recommends mental health education in schools, more
employment opportunities for people with mental health problems and
government targets to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis
from the average of between 12 to 18 months to three months.

– Right from the Start from www.rethink.org