‘I have been abandoned’

Man is struggling to cope

A Perthshire man says he feels let down and abandoned by mental health services in the area.

Claims of being left on his own to deteriorate have been made by the man.

The man, who did not want to be named, has a personality disorder, anxiety, depression and problems with cognitive ability, which has left him struggling with his mental health every day.

He said: “I have been left here to deteriorate and now I am at this stage where I am basically housebound and I can’t function, it is horrendous. “I feel abandoned. “I was not taken seriously so I am left to fight this myself. It is a crazy system.”

The man received support from the community mental health team at his home in Aberfeldy, and he believes that they are more concerned with getting through their busy work schedules than actually helping their patients.

He continued: “I am stuck at home struggling with problems. Whenever I phone up all I ever get told is to breathe or to go for a walk.

“They are overwhelmed so they just give you some pills and tell you to go away.

“My family have started phoning up as well asking for something to happen, but they don’t actually understand how it is affecting my daily life.

“When I go for a one-on-one consultation, they see me face-to-face.

“Someone might look okay, but they are not, and you can’t see how mental health is affecting them.

“I am walking around my area absolutely clueless because I don’t know what I am doing.

“Mental health patients are just being left to roam around the streets not knowing what to do, and that is actually quite dangerous.”

The man said he is having to wait a year and a half to receive treatment from a psychologist, and feels rushed whenever he has an appointment with the mental health team at NHS Tayside.

He continued: “I have a clinical psychiatry nurse who sees me every three weeks, but you are just left to deteriorate and deteriorate to the point where you can barely function.

“At every appointment they just look at the clock and try to get you out the door, “I am trying to get the help I am needing. “There should be a lot more done in general rather than just ‘there is a pill, go away home.’

“I have to wait 18 months for a psychologist, and I will be totally gone psychologically by then, which is not great at all.

“I want to highlight how people are being treated - or not being treated - by the mental health team who are more worried about their jobs than helping patients.”

A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross health and social care partnership said: “Due to patient confidentially we cannot comment on individual patients.

“We would encourage this patient to contact our complaints and feedback team on 0800 027 5507 or feedback.tayside@nhs. net to discuss his concerns.”