# Why mental health bed cuts make me ashamed to work for the NHS



## Northerner (Oct 23, 2013)

Imagine that a family member becomes critically unwell. You anxiously accompany them to A&E and the opinion of the doctor is clear ? an emergency hospital admission is needed to avoid potentially devastating consequences. But unfortunately, says the doctor, the hospital happens to be full. And so are all the other local hospitals. So either your relative can take a trip to a private hospital in a town more than 200 miles away for their life-saving treatment, or you can take them home and have a go at nursing them yourself.

Surely if this ever happened, people would notice. But it does happen, every single day. It seems to be acceptable because the illnesses are psychiatric.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/oct/23/mental-health-bed-cuts-ashamed-nhs


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## cherrypie (Oct 23, 2013)

Mental health is and always has been the Cinderella of the NHS.
You cannot provide beds that do not exist.
A friend recently phoned a Mental Health helpline as her son was behaving oddly and seemed to be a danger to himself  She was told as long as he was eating and drinking there was no cause for concern as if everyone who seemed a bit odd was sent to a mental hospital they would have to build more..Her GP got him admitted the same day on a section.
This Helpline belongs to a registered mental health charity


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## Northerner (Oct 23, 2013)

cherrypie said:


> Mental health is and always has been the Cinderella of the NHS.
> You cannot provide beds that do not exist.
> A friend recently phoned a Mental Health helpline as her son was behaving oddly and seemed to be a danger to himself  She was told as long as he was eating and drinking there was no cause for concern as if everyone who seemed a bit odd was sent to a mental hospital they would have to build more..Her GP got him admitted the same day on a section.
> This Helpline belongs to a registered mental health charity



 Very poor, I wonder how often they say that to people? Obviously someone who is bleeding profusely or has fingers hanging off is easier to assess, but I would have hoped that a trained helpline operator would have some ability to determine the extent of the problem.


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