Letter from a relative

We have been attending Clinic 7 for at least 5 years on a regular basis and I don’t know how we would have coped without these appointments and decisions on P’s medications.

Over the years we have seen many consultants who have tried most of the medications available.  P’s previous consultant actually told us he could not do more for P and referred us to Dr Malizia.

P’s current consultant  is kept informed of P’s progress.  She is very keen on ‘talking therapies’ of which P has had many.  In patients with moderate depression I am sure they are very helpful, but such is the seriousness of P’s depression they have little if any long term effect.  She has told us she would not be happy prescribing P such high doses of anti-depressants, and I don’t think she would.

So you can see that he really does need the continuing support of Clinic 7.

There are many other patients who suffer to the degree that P does, who do not have a carer or close family member as vocal as I am, and have no one to speak up for them. It is a very isolating and lonely illness and has devastating effects on family and friends.  It is still, unfortunately, greatly misunderstood, and generally people are not keen to get involved.

Other serious medical conditions have ‘Centres of Excellence’ to deal with and treat serious illnesses, and I hope that Clinic 7 will be able to continue and if possible receive more funding for clinical help and research, to try to help these people with this devastating illness.

If you an use this letter do so by all means, and if either of us can help in anyway, maybe by talking to interested parties, we would be very pleased to do so.