BBC news piece and meeting AWP

You can see the news piece on:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-18773710

Unfortunately the film clip has been removed (see previous post)

Note that neither organisations mention 'working together to carry on the provision' or 'finding a way to commission it'. Pontius Pilate meets Houdini and patients are 'collateral damage'. Both the University's and AWP's reputation have benefited from this clinic in the past at very little cost, now they are playing a game of chicken except that the disastrous outcome affects real people's lives not numbers in an end of year report.

The bit from AWP finding a solution is farcical- even experienced and caring clinicians like Dr Doran from Worcester (who was on the news item clip) need help from the clinic when stuck.

AWP's comment about what they are going to do would sit well in a Kafka novel. The mails sent to me indicate that AWP does not provide ANY real support in most of the cases. As Jade said in the interview - it is not only the medicines but also the fact that you are reviewed every six weeks by a consultant psychiatrist (and the same person - not a sequence of new people who have little understanding - my note).

So if my arithmetic is correct the intervention that has saved Jade's life and has made her able to lead a life again, would have cost about 4 hours of clinic time per year-not exactly a great deal - my calculation makes it £ 1000 to £ 2000 real expenditure depending on the estate costs. How little compared with heart surgery...

Let's imagine the same story for diabetes- hundreds of difficult to treat diabetes patients no longer have expert diabetological advice as a leading UK service run by a historical collaboration between the NHS and the University of Bristol will be closed as 'not commissioned'. Outpatient based general medical services will not see these patients as all GPs should be able to prescribe and support these patients beyond the steps outlined by NICE or their own PCTs.

It is also not surprising that AWP says that most of the people seen by the clinic don't have local mental health provision outside the clinic (as in the letter sent by them)- AWP is incapable of recognising profound distress, disability and constant suicidal thoughts as conditions in need of help. Most patients are either not looked after or told that 'nothing else' can be done.

One of you has already been dropped by secondary care in spite of being one of the few people who had an experienced and senior AWP case manager prior to his moving on.

Do write in with your story of interaction with the local NHS trust -people need to know about it. It can just be a few lines and anonymous.

Alternatively your story can be put in as a comment at the end of this post.

Try to go to the meeting on 26th July at 10 am at Callington road hospital next to Tesco.

If you cannot go send someone to represent you- let me know if you need help finding someone. Email to psychopharmcare@gmail.com ; Remember that AWP will not focus on the fact that many are either too ill to go or struggling to keep a job or a family going and therefore find it difficult to come. They will focus on the fantasy that this act (of vandalism) does not affect any people who SHOULD be in the centre of their focus. They still don't realise that their actions show that their website statements are callous hypocrisy.

Let's finish on a positive note. We have had over 1000 hits on the blog. I will need help with keeping this going as I am moving to a new job. Anyone interested- please let me know by email ; ).