The differences in Mental Health Support Services across Melbourne

[OldHeadNZ]

Hi there. My names J.

I'm originally from NZ but moved here to Melbourne in 2016.

From time to time I suffer manic episodes that need medication to address and resolve.

I'm now currently going through my 3rd episode since moving here.

The first one, I was living in the City so I sought help at Alfred Hospital and they fed me, medicated me, called my Wife and even walked me to my tram stop home. From there I received the best support I've had to date. They got me through the episode and honestly just did an amazing job.

3 years later (episodes roughly happen every 3 years) I'm now living in the Outer Western Suburbs. A good 40min drive from the city.

Second episode hits and I seek help like before. But that's where everything goes wrong. The Nurses/Dr's/HCA's/Lab Techs are just underfunded. Simple as that.

When there's not enough staff to manage the workload mistakes happen.

I was prescribed a toxic amount of Lithium as a mood stabiliser and ended up staying a night at Sunshine Hospital to get me through it.

I've been diagnosed as having a Schizo Effective Disorder. A mix of bipolar and schizophrenia.

Manic episodes are essentially me being super into my feelings.

When I'm sad I'm super sad, when I'm happy I'm super happy.

I'm talkative, I'm social, I'm ready to party essentially. I have poor impulse control with spending. My thoughts race a mile a second. I have short term memory loss. The list goes on

But with the right support and medication I can get through the episode without any major hiccups.

I say all this, because I feel like there's others out there like me.

Whether it's bipolar or depression or psychosis or whatever

As long as you have the right support, you'll get through.

I'm now towards the tail end of my 3rd episode. Still living in the Western Suburbs, so still have to go through this system.

And would you believe it, it's worse. A lot worse. Dr's who can even list the side effects of the medication they're prescribing. Staff turnover must be insane, because in 3 weeks I've never met the same person twice.

It's always "oh hi I'm ****, it's my first day" or "o I'm just covering for ***"

I signed up for the whole MyHealth record thing so I assumed my previous notes were in the system...

I assumed wrong.

They apparently have no record of my previous care or are unable to obtain it.

So we start from scratch and hope for the best.

I'm rambling now. I apologise. 

The point of this discussion is to hear from other people about their journey through whatever Mental Health Support System they are zoned for.

Because I believe the differences in quality are ridiculous. 

[Croix]

Dear J~

Welcome back to the Forum. I read your last post and can understand why you wanted a record of the efforts you made and what happened. You got good advice on covert recordings. Where I live it is an offense, with a couple of exceptions, to record or film anyone without their informed consent.

Frankly I"m not sure what you could do with the record, so many things are open to interpretation and with one exception who would you show it to anyway? 

I think you are on a much more productive path pointing out that care, expertise and consistency are vital to a person with a mental health issue. This is exactly what you received at the Alfred Hospital at the time and you gained enormously.

Since then you have shown two examples of what not to get. No consistency and not even knowledge of you history. A different doctor a day, nursing staff who have come from other areas, and no time, all tend to make matters worse, in some cases you survive despite the care given.

Maybe a very selective number of documents may help, such as your discharge report from the Alfred. This at least would give your new environment and staff a solid base to start from.

In my own case I'd try to pick where I was sent, as some hospitals are different from others and I'm able to suggest where to go, not everyone has that luxury.

You sound as if yu have a pretty good understanding of your condition and as you are able roughly to predict your episodes, being around every three years, is there anyway you can plan to be in a better resourced area? Probably not practical but a thought.

I hope all is OK with you at the moment, you will always be welcome here

Croix