My Terrible Experience with the NHS

This time of year is my absolute favourite, yet it is also the last couple of months of the year that is the hardest for me. For the past two months I have felt myself spiralling out of control again and not being able to cope. I am absolutely terrified I will overdose again (I don't tend to plan it, its always impulsive during a crisis) and I was determined that after all my hard work this year I would not be in that position again. Unfortunately I am not able to get PMI via work until January so against my better judgement I made an appointment with my GP to get a referral to the NHS.

My previous experience with the NHS has been awful. The psychiatrist I saw didn't listen to me and wrote things completely wrong in my report, the counselling I had prior to that was also below par and just left me feeling worse. The only good has been good was during my over dose in January when I was in hospital but the after care was not. Having had private care through my old company, the quality is at opposite of the spectrum. I now know what good care is and also the standard of what everyone deserves. That is why I didn't want to go back to the NHS but I had no other choice.

I am lucky that my GP is very understanding and has done everything to support me. I can't fault him at all. He gave me an urgent referral to see an NHS psychiatrist which can only be done in my catchment area, as he could see I was not coping and agreed that I need specialist counciling to learn coping mechanisms for my BPD (I only just started this with my private at beginning of the year after my over dose and subsequent diagnosis of BPD) as well as to be prescribed my medication which I was also on (lamotrogine, zoplicone, diazepam).

I got a first letter through from the team letting me know that I should expect a call within 10 days of the letter. No time, name or any other information. I have a full time job so this obviously worried me as there would be plenty of times I would not be able to answer the phone. I heard nothing for 7 days then received a second letter in the post with details of an appointment with a psychatirst for the next day at 12pm. Again, there is no way I would have been able to make this and no one had phoned to arrange it. I was able to rearrange by phoning up the next day, and the woman on the phone was also surprised I heard nothing.

I took the day off work as I knew it would be a tough day, and although I had low expectations for the meeting, I really wanted it to go well and at least get my medication and counciling out of it. 

Firstly, I ended up seeing the same person. Unfortunately the session was ten times worse than the first and I left in bits. I have subsequently fallen into a a deep depression and had many anxiety attacks and crisis moments in the following days since the meeting.

What happened in the meeting:

• He didn't read any of my notes previous to the meeting, including his own first report (which was useless) the detailed reports from my private psychiatrist (who is amazing) or hospital reports or from my GP
• He answered a personal phone call in the middle of my session, which made me feel like he didn't take me seriously and was also incredibly rude.
• He told me to "learn to get better in my environment" and refused to give me any counselling sessions. Even though my GP and private health care have said I need this treatment and I have expressed I do not have sufficient coping mechanisms, he dismissed me.
• He dismissed my diagnosis of BPD entirely, even though out of depression anxiety and BPD, it is the illness that affects me the most, permeating every aspect of my life on a daily basis.
• He refused me any medication until I begged for the lamotrogine which stabilises my mood. He was very condescending and said that it wasn't the medication that worked previously it was the counselling - so why refuse me more sessions then? 
• I had to explain my schemas to him which affect my every day life - in particular abandonment, subjugation and mistrust/abuse. This was again dismissed and he asked me "well what trauma have you actually had in your life?" - If he had read my notes and also listened to me in that session he would know that I have been through significant mental and physical abuse in the past.
• In regards to my sleep - I have been unable to get to sleep and stay asleep for over a year. I have been given herbal tablets on prescription as well as zopiclone to take every so often to get proper sleep. I also practice sleep hygiene religiously. He would not prescribe what my private doctor would, instead telling me to "eat onions and mature cheese before bed" and that "birds learn to sleep at night, so will you."  
• Finally and the most significant to me is that he completely dismissed my experience and feelings. Just because I was not sitting there in a crying state does not mean that I do not need help. I am lucky that through private care and research I have educated myself on my illnesses and know what type of care I need and when to ask for it.

Overall, the experience was horrific and I feel so sorry for people who have no other option but to have to go through the NHS. There were many points during the meeting where I genuinely wanted to get up and leave, telling him to rip up his redundant notes. I am now going to have to find the money to go back to private care while I wait for PMI as I cannot be left like this.

This occurred on Friday and since then I have self harmed a lot more (I have only since done that once since my over dose) I have been severely depressed and over all a lot worse than I was before the meeting. I haven't been able to sleep, waking up in absolute panics and I feel completely isolated and dismissed. 

I feel such despair and like so much of my hard work has been for nothing.