All is not lost Beth, Tracey to the Rescue!!
Hi my name is Tracey and I have been a carer for what seems like an eternity!!
Actually, I wanted to write to give some support to Beth. I read Beth’s story last month and it felt like it was my story, as I totally sympathise and know all too well where she is coming from.
So Beth, if you are reading this, you are definitely not alone. I would like to offer a few suggestions that might help, they certainly helped me when I was going through the same situation.
Firstly, I found it helped me to write down on a piece of paper before I went to see the psychiatrist with my daughter, all the things that were concerning me and/or my daughter. As when you get in there, it’s a bit like visiting the GP, you forget what you want to say and get all tongue tied. That was an enormous help - if I wasn’t feeling too brave on that particular day of the appointment, I could just hand the piece of paper over for the psychiatrist to read.
Secondly another carer suggested to me that she rang the psychiatrist requesting a telephone appointment and mentioned how she was concerned that her husbands health issues weren’t being addressed in the meetings, as he would say ‘he was fine and dandy’ when asked, and the opposite was indeed the case. This helped her situation as it enabled her to get her point across. They then regularly organised for her to phone the psychiatrist before any planned appointments to state her concerns so the psychiatrist was aware of them if her husband did not point the obvious out in the meetings. Also if the psychiatrist was called out to any urgent cases and not available, a message was left with the secretary who would pass the information on.
Thirdly, it was suggested to me by a professional within the National Health Service that if you are not happy with the psychiatrist you can ask to see another psychiatrist for a second opinion and/or change to another psychiatrist.
It is also worth contacting PALS (the patient advisory liaison service) as I have done so myself and found them great. They are always happy to help and guide you in the right direction, and why not take a friend along with you at the meetings for moral support..
There is no one perfect solution I guess, but what works for one person may not another, but simply leaving it as it is, is exasperating beyond words!!
Well, I do hope some of the things I have mentioned help Beth, and any other carer who is feeling like WE did.
Regards,
Tracey
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