joined up working?
it's been a while since i have posted but thanks to the Pier project i have decided i need to start again as early intervention in psychosis is something i feel very passionate about.
what i have been struggling with recently is working alongside mental health services that don't get that we are trying to be different from other mental health teams - treatment as usual. we try and treat early, listen to what our young people want or need,play on strengths rather than deficits but when the in-patient units we use dont get this it can be very difficult. i know they are struggling with the dreaded cuts and their concerns about where their jobs will be if, as rumour has it, the smaller units close but we must not forget that we are working with vulnerable young people who deserve as does anybody we come into contact with respect, compassion and care.
it'snot great is it to discharge someone first thing on a monday morning because they had a drink on the weekend........ i get that we cant have people drunk on the ward but i think that they think dual diagnosis only happens in the cities, and what help is it discharging someone onto the streets? i spent the first part of the week feeling very angry that teams where i work seem to work in silos and there is no joined up thinking - once someone has left the ward its not their problem anymore so what do they care if the young person concerned has nowhere to go.
i am currently in the process of composing a letter of complaint backing up my crossness with lots of research about dual diagnosis.