You probably don't remember me, but you have the link to my blog, which you've probably never read. I met you in 2013 Lillington Youth Centre and it was clear that your understanding of mental illness was slim to nothing.
As I spoke to you I think you compared my depression to when you were at school at felt like you wasn't clever enough (or something along those lines...), I expressed my concerns about how the mental health system is actually appalling and it breaks my heart that if anything it's getting worse in Warwickshire.
I know people have phoned your office to talk about the current problem of the Crisis accommodation in Leamington closing and your staff have been nothing but rude. So here I am, writing to you via my blog that is viewed world wide and get's hundreds of viewers each time I post, so here's hoping when I send you this link, you'll be one of them).
Nick Clegg (Yes, I know he's not Conservative but is in joint coalition..) has called for a 'New Ambition of Zero Suicides across the NHS' But that would be making the impossible, possible. Despite being God's son even you can not perform such a miraculous thing, even in someone as small as lemington. Especially when the help available for Mental Health in Warwickshire is being made unavailable.
Assuming you have never suffered the grasp of a mental illness than you will never understand what those of us who do suffer have to go through on a daily basis. While I personally have not used the Crisis accommodation but have exhausted all other "Services" (I use that term lightly as My experience has been quite frankly, disgusting...) relatives of mine have so I'll add there words in...
"The crisis house, based in Leamington Spa, is run by the charity Rethink who are a nationwide mental health charity. Rethink are currently supported to deliver this facility with funding from the NHS but this critical funding is to be stopped and the building sold.
There are no plans to open another.
As many as 1 in 4 people suffer mental health problems and this facility both safeguards and protects those most vulnerable when in the deepest depths of despair. Therefore closure will not just be detrimental to the mental stability of those battling mental health conditions but the potential danger to life will be increased.
The only alternative would be admission to the nearest psychiatric hospital which is already at breaking point being full to capacity. Park House has a significantly faster recovery rate compared to hospital admittance whilst offering a cost saving with beds charged at approximately £60 per bed per night, compared to £360 per bed per night in psychiatric ward.
On a personal level as a service user I give my personal thanks for reading and signing this petition. It is an invaluable service that has made a vast difference in the darkest times of my life. People do not ask for a mental health illness, and it can feel relentless, especially if your diagnosis is long term and non-responsive to medication. We fight a war every day, often without a voice.
It has given me time to build myself emotionally when fragile and being a non-threatening environment, allowing my children to visit without worrying about its impact.
In conclusion, closure will not only remove patient choice, resulting in unsuitable care, increase in self harm, but inevitably higher suicide rates."
The loss of this service is going to be a disastrous one. I've probably wasted my time writing this because you don't understand mental illnesses, so why would you want to help those suffering?
We spend our lives being invisible and ignored. As if our opinions and need's don't matter, so why would you treat us any differently?
I really hope that you will recognize how important services like these ones are when all the others are so poor.
Sincerely,
Lydia.
(And for anybody interested in signing a petition to stop the closure, Please click HERE)
The loss of this service is going to be a disastrous one. I've probably wasted my time writing this because you don't understand mental illnesses, so why would you want to help those suffering?
We spend our lives being invisible and ignored. As if our opinions and need's don't matter, so why would you treat us any differently?
I really hope that you will recognize how important services like these ones are when all the others are so poor.
Sincerely,
Lydia.
(And for anybody interested in signing a petition to stop the closure, Please click HERE)
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