I am qualified medical doctor
I was Sectioned under the Mental Health Act earlier this year (Section 2)
I stayed on 2 different psych wards over a period of 17 days.
During my 17 days of being a psychiatric patient I was in 2 different mental health hospitals & 3 general hospitals.
I was released after I applied to a tribunal for my release. My experience was unhelpful for my mental and physical health- I had 2 TIAs resulting in ongoing vision loss and I was assaulted by a staff member.
I learnt a few things, met some really cool people, and had many wtf moments.
Ask me anything about my experiences ,UK psych wards, my mental health, tribunal,hospital food, what its like to deal with a sudden vision impairment, life after the psych ward, etc
Update- I am going to bed now, but if anyone else wants to ask more questions I will try to answer them in the morning
Comments
Did you find that you were treated any differently as a doctor despite being a patient in comparison to other patients?
Were you subjected to electro convulsive therapy?
Hypnosis, Trance states, foggy recollection, etc.
If you had 2 TIAs, why didn’t they transfer you to the cardiac ward?
Thanks for sharing your story. That’s a pretty intense experience. I want to be honest though, there are a lot of missing details here that make it hard to understand what really happened.
You said you were sectioned under the Mental Health Act, had two TIAs with vision loss, and were assaulted by a staff member. Those are serious things, but there’s no explanation of what led to any of it. Why were you sectioned? What did the doctors think was going on? Was there a misdiagnosis or a misunderstanding?
Also, the TIAs and the assault. Are you saying those happened because of poor care while you were detained? Were they reported? Investigated? It sounds like the hospital stay made things worse for you, but it’s not clear how or why.
I’m not trying to be harsh. I think it takes courage to talk about something like this, especially being a doctor. But without more context, it just leaves a lot of questions hanging in the air.
What behaviour were you exhibiting that they sectioned you? How was the tribunal? Did they argue to keep the section in place?
Was this NHS or private? Did the staff know you were a doctor/how was that dynamic?
Do you harbour any anger or complex feelings regarding the standards of care and how they should be
Did you lose your license? Were you able to regain it?
What led to this detention and are those issues now being treated?
I’ve heard some psych wards are almost like prisons. Neglect, no privacy, understaffing, etc. Is this the case in the UK?
Did that make you loose your trust in doctors?
Are you comfortable discussing what exactly led to you being invol admitted? Do you think it was unjust, or maybe needed at the time then eventually you think you demonstrated being held there was not helpful and you were appropriate to be discharged?
If you are going through a mental health crisis what is the best way to manage this?
Just wanted to say thanks for sharing this, I’m an RN, there is a perception that only certain parts of society can find themselves in these positions which that is so far from the truth. Mental health issues can impact ANYONE at any time. Hope you’re doing okay 😊
What symptoms were you displaying?
Did you notice your decline in MH given your medical training?
How did you end up having a MHA, what circumstances lead to this?
Were you in a hospital that any of your colleagues worked at, how did you manage that?
Were you able to make decisions about your treatment based on evidence you have given your job role – were you listened to?
What have you learnt from this experience?
Do you find that when you’ve got mental health problems, that the medical community turns its back on you? (Worked in MH, had the occasional doctor as a patient, and I was shocked how poorly they were treated by their own profession)
Had you ever worked with psych patients before? Or on the ward? What was it like to be a patient, when you usually care for them.
“Life after the psych ward”?? Lol you were there for 17 DAYS, not years 😂😂
But for real, I’m sorry that happened. Did you report the staff member that assaulted you? Did you have your TIAs while being inpatient? Also, can you explain why they admitted you in the first place?
Edit: Sorry, I see you answered the last question already! Read that!
Prior to this experience, did you believe the NHS treated mental health conditions appropriately? Have your views changed? Do you have any opinions on anti-psychiatry?
Do you have a link for the keys on Amazon?
How has it changed your opinion on the NHS?