Draft In Progress

Somebody comment !! Am I talking to myself ? 2,450 visits to this site in the last six weeks - and not a single e-mail reaction !!! I have no idea whether I am being relevant or not !
E-mail reaction is welcome .... and necessary ... !!!!

contact me at davidwatch@btinternet.com or tel no 01208 81 6035

tragedy

What to do when carer is getting nowhere with serious concern.?

What to do about those with schizophrenia who have left home and gone out of touch,
unlikely to hold their own; more likely to relapse, and to behave badly, one way or another, the illness taking over and it's content misleading them.

Here it's the family job: the family must persevere, go to any lengths, use every resource, to find somebody who will have some knowledge of where sufferer is, and what is happening, who can be persuaded to keep an eye open and keep in touch with family.
Not to be able to intervene directly. Often unwelcome from the family sufferer .

More usually to engage with the local services.
It must not be 'that they did not know'.
Family will be prepared to inform any local 'authority' appropriately, that they are available, best by writing a letter and giving a copy. to your local Mental Health Trust relevant team, to keep them up-to-date, and involved.
Even the police in the area where where sufferer is, and certainly the Local Social Services, and by discovering the local Mental Health Trust, writing there too.

Write that they are to inform you of any proposed intervention so that you can be a part of that intervention in an appropriate capacity.

It is helpful to those in the uncomfortable position of having to apply coercion to a family member to have been in touch with family about what is going to have to be done currently, then afterwards.
That does not mean those with the authority to intervene can say they are doing whatever at your bidding, only that where intervention is required by events you are told in time for you to be part of it.
The intervention is not at your bidding. It is from the matter that has arisen.
Your presence as participant in some degree helps the intervenor and the family target. Your intervention means that your family patient cannot be dealt with with as one unprotected ill person. Standards will be observed. Those intervening can discuss with you their difficulties and anxieties and get you involvement, if it will be helpful

Still in the local sevice

At the heart of an area service is a census of all that the NHS in the area have on record as people affected by schizophrenia: held in a protected Area NHS website page, accessible by password just to those who need to know, and checked by whoever is visiting the File to be registered as having done done so: what is listed is the whereabouts and the circumstances of those people affected by continuing schizophrenia; and how to resume contact with them in some way that will be there for any future change of behaviour or circumstance.

Within the list will be a clear marking of separation between those who have a level of sufficiency in personal care and a directed life - that is they are taken up with a programme of activities in the week that makes a sustainable routine for them.

Then an assessment of the degree to which this is dependent upon support from others.
Consideration of the ability of the dependent upon reliably to carry on doing the contact and support, their ability to continue to observe what is going on with the illness, and how reliable will be the observation for noticing any change which makes for vulnerability.

Family should be prepared to be active and assertive themselves, without shyness or embarrassment, or leaving things alone, believing that all is well as the professional people have it in hand.
Stick your neck out so that the professional team know what you are prepared to do on behalf of your family sufferer.

Your family member deserves that.

If you feel left out of what is happening, feel that more needs to be done, are unable to get your point across, write to the local community team area consultant, copying to the Mental Health Trust Chief Executive with your facts; askthe Local Authority Socila Service to arrange for a carer assessment and register your concerns in that.

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What was there left for him to do ?

I suggest put everything in writing to whoever might be the lead Consultant - ask who it is - in the team delivering professional care. Keep copies, copy them, and writing that in the letter, to the Chief Executive of the local Mental Health Trust of the local Mental health Team, to the GP and the local MP.

Discuss withe GP getting a second opinion

Ask the Local Authority Social Services for a Carer assessment . It will have his concerns registered, put into writing.
Asking, from any team contact, or the switchboard of the local Trust, for contact with, and talking to the PALS person in the Mental Health Trust will get you an idea of what route to follow.
But do not stop there !
Could the police have been called in , Section 135 Section 136 Mental Health Act giving police powers. ... Someone slowly dying by neglecting himself , being visited by a public service - unlikely the police would or could do anything .
The NHS Trust community team representative - which had authority to intervene, but not doing so, decided it should not do so. Mr Coomeraswamy consequently, was allowed to continue in neglect, with his human rights.
Was his lack of will an indicaton of active illness, and therefore a different care and treatment plan to be turned to.
Did some one, perhaps the Local Authority Social services - put it to the mental health team that further action was down to them and then this was refused.
It may not have been anticipated nor discussed within the public service that he might die, but that he would continue to deteriorate was clear.

The ' official' route for a carer to complain is to write to the chief Executive of the Trust concerned, but always copy the letter to the General Practitioner. Maybe also to the local MP would push somebody else to think they have some responsibility to intervene.

Riase it with the local newspaer

Finally, through a solicitor, an appeal for Judicial Review against the decision - the Trust decision not to intervene.
Not likely that the brother would have access to information about that possibility, nor that he would know how to go about it , nor that he might have sufficent funding to go that way, or access to it. He could try a Charity - Rethink - ! - but their history in this respect would not be reassuring.

If I successfully got a Charity going, that would be one of the aims- to help with such access to legal support.

Could and should the brother have moved in.
If he could and was allowed to
Would it have led to anyone with the authority intervening ?
He had after all tried before without success.

Who was doing the shopping for something to eat and drink ? Anybody ? Whoever was visiting - did they look in the fridge - look out for food ?

Still it comes down to how do you make someone intervene ? Who has the power to do so, but says they can't or won't ?

If he could have got the police to do anything their involvement might have woken up others. It would have been kicking up a stink - maybe asking the neighbours to do the same - and the landlord.

Just the fact of stirring the pot in any way possible, can be a resort. Making a nuisance of your self everywhere you can - in writing as well as orally - in these circumstances. Some serendipity might come up.

It all seems inadequate. There is a gap somewhere in the system of care.

Pals would be my bet