What's it like on a psych ward?

[Just Sara]

Hi all;

This topic often comes up so I thought I'd create a thread to inform, and discuss concerns of people scared to ask for help from a hospital.

I've worked as a mental health peer worker since mid last year so I totally understand the stigma around being admitted. I spent two weeks on a ward a few years ago so my post is from lived experience as well.

Depending on your circumstances, being admitted voluntarily or involuntarily isn't really any different except if you're violent or are at risk of self-harming. In these instances patients are sent to a ward where they can be monitored more closely than on other wards.

Think of the MH system as a scale from 1 to 3; at each level you're being assessed to move to the next level of care with less monitoring and more independence, eg. wards can be closed or open depending on whether the patient is a risk to themselves or others and has proven themselves to be actively participating in their own recovery.

Assessments are carried out by a psychiatrist assigned to the patient on admission or the next available time permitted as they are extremely busy or it's in the middle of the night.

Nursing staff take daily, and sometimes hourly notes to support the assessment process. They follow the Dr's treatment plan which includes medication both regularly administered and PRN for crisis situations when people need something extra to help them cope.

In my own case I was prescribed a daily anti-depressant with PRN anti-anxiety as a back-up which I only requested when I couldn't sleep or was distressed. People with more severe symptoms are treated with medication in alignment with their particular diagnosis and responses.

Sometimes it takes a while to test what the best medication is, so letting staff know how you feel with any new drug is really important. Their notes are a direct link to your psychiatrist and are discussed every morning in a combined clinical meeting to identify the best avenue of treatment and ward movements for each patient.

As you can imagine, patients at each stage of the scale will differ in how they act, respond and engage with others. Focusing on yourself and recovery is the best way to approach your stay.

Hope this helps. Looking forward to comments from members.

Kind thoughts;

Sez

[Guest_1643]

another thing i noticed was that in my life i seemed to mostly connect to women as good friends. The women in the recovery centre I found actually quite difficult to connect with. The men were very down to earth and open and helpful. I think sometimes you connect to people you don't expect, and age or gender isn't really a barrier there.
I think there are few places on earth like that - where all that really matters is if you are a nice person. My friends there were from lots of different backgronds, ages, situations etc, but I could relate to all in a different way. We were all struggling and had that in common

[Guest_1643]

Just to follow up on this thread -

Does anyone have any thoughts re private vs public hospital systems?

A few years ago after a suicide attempt I was connected to the public hospital, and the service was really lacking. I had visitors come to my house once or twice from the hospital, and they were not very good. That was it.

Last year I had engagement with the public hospital and their services went above and beyond this - they offered daily calls, assigned me a social worker to work with me, and gave me the option to stay for a few months in a recovery centre. Times have changed, maybe, and the system has improved? I'm wandering if things were much worse years ago, and if slowly, slowly, the system is offering better options for mental health in the public system

[Just Sara]

Hey Sleepy;

I'm not sure if your 1st or 2nd paragraph actually refers to the private/public health system as you've used 'public' for both.

In any case, I agree with the points you've made re follow-up as it's a very important aspect of discharge and recovery. Social workers and other service providers are thankfully active in supporting people as well.

This is where I feel Peer Workers can be highly effective for post ward periods. Coming home from a controlled environment can be difficult for some; it was for me. If I'd had that type of support I would've adapted so much better than I did.

Living alone has its positives, but isolation when in need of company can be frightening.

[Matchy69]

Hi Sleepy I will just give a quick reply to your public and private care. I have only used public and before I was able to be released from hospital I had to make an appointment with a private psychologist and they would continue to see me at the hospital with a case worker for a few weeks after. I have spoken to people who have been in both public and private and they say the private is much better. The hospital is a much nicer environment and not as cold and dull like public. Much more one on one therapy in private.

[Guest_1643]

Hi sara - thanks i'm intentionally using public for both, they were different stays in different times and i was discussing wether the public system had changed or improved over time.

In terms of private, I have no experience there but would be interested to know what people feel about private hospitals for mental health, and also if they have seen any improvements in the public system, which I have (as indicated by 1st and 2nd paragraph - different stays, but much higher quality care a few years later, in the public system.)

[Guest_1643]

hi Sara also if my statments aren't clear i totally understand and appreciate you asking however in this case it was just a confusion over me not signposting properly ie - mentioning one thing initially and then going on to talk about something else. I hope the message was clear anyway, I'm trying my best and welcome any responses even if not exactly in line with what I wrote. I try my best to be clear so if its a general response I'd prefer that rather than getting to into what words I've chosen. Thanks again

[Guest_1643]

hi Mark thanks for telling me about your public stays and what you noticed differently from your friends comments about private stays. That is very helpful. I've also heard that public hospital can be very jarring, with poor food choices etc (my friends said that they got the exact same meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.)

another friend said it was a little confronting as you were exposed to some things there - if the other residents eg were still taking drugs etc he witnessed some of that on the ward.

I can understand for some people it would be conronting staying in a public psych ward. I stayed in Prevention and Recovery Care which is run by public system but is quite a bit better - because they vet people who attend. They do a background check on each person before entering, so no one has a history of violence, and I felt safe there.

Thanks again your story is helpful!

[Matchy69]

Hi Sleepy your right about the food in the public system they would bring the food trolley in and you would just grab a tray off it and got what you got. They kept loaves of bread in the fridge and jam and ate that during the day while it lasted. Their was one person who had a special diet who's food was kept desperate.

Some of the patients were a bit iffy and could be scary and we did have a couple of inmates from prison in prison uniform come in for treatment which was a bit scary.

[Guest_1643]

Hi Mark that doesn't sound very delicious at all! sounds hectic trying to get food and no choice at all.
For a lot of the time I ate bread and cheese so I can imagine very well getting bread from the fridge!

in the recovery centre they had very basic food, no juice or sweets, basic meals. i thought it was becaue they didn't want us to eat sugar, but they told me the concept was learning to make simple meals on very limited budget. Ie - you may not be able to afford juice or treats once you leave hospital, so you can still be okay drinking water or milk (always long life milk, never fresh!). We ate mostly frozen pizzas or hash browns for dinner.

The food wasn't good, but was good enough!

[Just Sara]

Hi Sleepy;

I'm sorry my post came across a bit course; it wasn't meant to be that way. I should've put a smiley face or something to make small of what I said after my sentence. Thank you for explaining things even though it was my error in how I read your post.

Your contribution to this thread has been great! I'm sure those who're apprehensive about being on a psychiatric ward will benefit. Thankyou...

Take care;

Sez