Care Opinion

My patient story

Posted By mjx85

"My patient story"

About: Child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS) / CAMHS Walsall

(as a service user),

I have been under this service since I was 11 years old. I am now 18years old. My experience with CAMHS has been distressing over the years. The ever changing doctors, the long waits to be seen, staff not understanding my needs.

I am utterly disappointed that I finally got a CPN only months before my 18th birthday. That meant I would be discharged at 18. I wasn’t hopeful at all at this point. However, my key worker has been amazing. She was the first adult I could trust. She made me feel worthy , important and seen.  I am going to miss her but it makes me smile that she will help others. It has been a privilege and highlight knowing her.

I wish I was allocated her sooner. I wish the waits wasn’t so long I hope this changes in the future

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Emma Fletcher-Lee, Service Manager/Clinical Lead, CAMHS Walsall, Black Country Healthcare last month
We have made a change
Emma Fletcher-Lee
Service Manager/Clinical Lead, CAMHS Walsall,
Black Country Healthcare

Submitted on 27/09/2024 at 15:27
Published on Care Opinion at 15:28

Hi Mjx85,

Thank you for sharing your feedback, which is really gratefully received. I'm so sorry to hear how difficult it has been for you with inconsistency in staffing, long waits and feeling that you weren't understood. We continue to work hard in recruiting our doctors to try and prevent frequent changes of staffing for clients.

We also recognise how difficult and distressing the waits can be and have been working hard over the past two years to address this through a variety of different pilots and initiatives which are continuing. With these. I'm really pleased to be able to share that our waiting list has halved within the last 12 months, meaning that we're working towards seeing young people for therapeutic support much quicker.

Whilst I'm really saddened that you've had periods of time where you feel that staff haven't understood your needs, I'm so pleased with the support that you received from your allocated clinician and the progress that you have hopefully made together in your brief time working together.

Thank you again for your open, honest and kind feedback which I will ensure is relayed to the team.

Wishing you all the very best for the future.

Kind regards,

Emma

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k