Panorama - Locked Up For Being Ill?

[Burnsy2023]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03b59yw/Panorama_Locked_Up_For_Being_Ill/

Did anyone watch this last night? It's a topic that I feel quite strongly about - mentally ill people not having the emergency care they desperately need and require. This means that the Police are dealing with people who need medical care are being left in cells often for for a very long time.

The whole programme is even more real when the programme is filmed at Southampton where I recognise a large majority of the people, the problems and the poor solutions.

I know from personal experience how many times I've been told that there isn't space at the place of safety (Antelope House which is shown on the programme). There simply isn't enough space at these facilities for the the need which exists.

I still find it hard to understand why MH illness isn't treated like any other medical care. The programme states that not all people need to be inpatients, which is true, but many who don't fall under this category find that there simply isn't the interim care that they need, be that counselling or community care. If you have an acute physiological issue, you go to A&E and get the treatment you need. If you have an acute mental health issue, then the NHS aren't called, the Police are. This is simply not acceptable - we're not medical practitioners. There needs to an emergency MH team that are as available as an emergency ambulance is.

I know how prevalent MH issues are, so I'm sure there'll be plenty of people here who have stories. Hopefully people will feel that they can share them

 

[Rroff]

If you have an acute mental health issue, then the NHS aren't called, the Police are. This is simply not acceptable - we're not medical practitioners. There needs to an emergency MH team that are as available as an emergency ambulance is.

While I agree - MH emergencies have the potential to be or are sometimes accompanied by violent events and do not completely infrequently require people trained in physical restraint as well as those trained to deal with the medical side of it. (EDIT: And this is probably why its quite often dumped on the police's lap).

 

[Burnsy2023]

While I agree - MH emergencies have the potential to be or are sometimes accompanied by violent events and do not completely infrequently require people trained in physical restraint as well as those trained to deal with the medical side of it.

MH nurses are trained to do this too. Police officers aren't the only people that deal with violent persons.

 

[AtreuS]

The simple fact is that governments simply dont see mental health as a priority service. There is the odd media storm when somone commits a murder and so on but it soon dies down and gets forgotten.

 

[Meridian]

The simple fact is that governments simply dont see mental health as a priority service. There is the odd media storm when somone commits a murder and so on but it soon dies down and gets forgotten.

And they don't see it as a priority because voters don't. The fact is, almost no-one without a mentally ill relative or friend cares enough about the issue to make a fuss. This isn't helped by a society that refuses to acknowledge it when people have mental issues; the stigma is so great most such ill people go to considerable lengths to hide the fact. Nothing is going to change until a) people admit to mental illness, b) are not sacked/ostracised etc for it, and c) they then make enough fuss for politicians to start caring. File that under "never".