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Couple reveal debt they owe to crisis mental health ward
Steve Weyer and Nadia Southwood
With their happy smiles, Nadia Southwood and boyfriend Steve look like any normal loving couple but their relationship was shaken this year after Steve suffered a breakdown and tried to end his own life.
Mention the words “psychiatric unit” and many people use unkind phrases such as “nutters” and “psychos”.
But mental health issues are problems which can strike anyone at any point in their life, and it is only when families see a loved one affected that they truly appreciate how important inpatient units such as Preston’s Avondale Unit actually are.
Nadia Southwood, 40, of Fulwood, Preston, admits she too had preconceived ideas about what the inside of a psychiatric unit was like – until earlier this year when her partner Steve suffered a mental breakdown.
Nadia, who is fighting to save Avondale from closure and has launched a Facebook campaign which now has 321 members, admits: “Twelve months ago, if I had read in the Lancashire Evening Post the Avondale Unit was closing, I probably would have been the first to say ‘thank God!’.
“My pre-conceived ideas of the unit was that it held all of Preston’s insane men and women and I pictured them wandering around the grounds high on drugs and that at any moment, if unsupervised, they would attack an innocent passer-by.
“In fact, any time I had to visit the Royal Preston Hospital, I would ensure I parked as far away from the unit as possible.”
However, in February this year, Nadia’s world was thrown into turmoil when her partner of two years Steve, 45, was admitted as an inpatient and the mum-of-two found herself visiting him at the unit twice a day.
Nadia, who is an events organiser, says: “I discovered that the vast majority of patients in the unit were respectable, hardworking family men and women who had either suffered mental breakdowns, had severe post-natal depression, had bipolar disorder or had just simply been dealt a ‘bad hand’ along life’s path.”
Valentine’s Day this year is a date forever etched in Nadia’s memory, as it was when Steve suffered his breakdown and fully intended to take his own life.
The day started like any other and Steve had spent all day preparing a romantic meal, which he and Nadia enjoyed that evening.
Shortly afterwards, Steve told Nadia he was “nipping out” and she thought nothing of it.
Just half-an-hour later, Nadia got a call from a concerned friend who asked if everything was OK, as Steve had left what could only be described as a suicide note on his Facebook page.
Frantic with worry, Nadia found Steve had written a message on Facebook saying how much he loved her, telling her he was sorry and saying goodbye.
After telephoning his friends and family, Nadia called the police and told them of her concerns.
The police found Steve at 10pm that night in a “trance-like state” heading for the motorway to throw himself in front of a car.
Nadia says: “The day-to-day stresses of life had got to Steve and he just couldn’t cope with them any more.
“It was the pressures of work, financial stresses and life generally that had got on top of him.
“There were no warning signs. Steve was always the life and soul of any party and had a huge amount of friends and family.”
Steve was admitted to the A&E department at the Royal Preston Hospital and Nadia felt her heart pounding as she waited for the man she loved to be assessed.
Nadia says: “I did not recognise the man who stood rocking before me. Steve was crying and talking nonsense. He didn’t recognise me and to say I was scared would be an understatement.”
Nadia was asked to wait while Steve was assessed. After 20 minutes, she became concerned, so approached a nurse who told her Steve was in a side room.
Nadia went to the room so she could sit with Steve, but discovered he had “disappeared”.
Nadia angrily recalls: “Steve was put in a side room all alone with a second door leading to a corridor. He had basically escaped and gone missing again.
“I cannot describe my anger at that point. Why on earth would a trained nurse place a suicidal patient in a room all alone?
“Are these nurses not trained in mental health issues? We were at that point let down by the NHS.”
The police found Steve heading for the motorway in an attempt to finish what he started.
He was returned to A&E and assessed by the mental health team attached to the Avondale Unit and admitted to the Sycamore Ward at Avondale, which is one of the wards which will close before the end of the year.
Steve was on the unit for a week and Nadia visited him twice a day.
Nadia says: “With two small children and a part-time job, how would I have visited Steve and given him the love and support he needed if I had to travel to Chorley or Blackpool or West Lancashire, as the NHS Trust is now proposing?
“It would have been impossible, not only for me, but for his family and friends.
“People suffering from mental health issues don’t just need the professional care of staff, but need the emotional support of their loved ones.”
After a week of medication, care and counselling, Steve was allowed home, but still needed constant monitoring.
Nadia says: “Attached to the Avondale Unit is a crisis team which provides an after-care service we could call 24/7.”
Steve is now completely better and has changed jobs to relieve some of the pressure he was under. He used to be a manager, but is now a delivery driver.
Nadia says she will never forget the vital part the Avondale Unit played in Steve’s recovery and is determined to keep fighting to keep the unit open.
She says: “The professional care the Avondale Unit showed not only to Steve, but also to myself, was invaluable.
“I truly believe that if it wasn’t for the unit, Steve would not be here today. We have so much to thank them for.
“Since setting up the Facebook page, so many people have e-mailed me their stories about how they have suffered mental breakdowns and have praised the Avondale Unit and said they wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the unit and its staff.
“People need to fight to keep this unit in Preston and realise they could one day need its help.
“Steve and I are proof there is no stereotypical patient.”
l Visit Facebook and join Nadia’s group – Preston Needs the Avondale Unit.
‘People do not just need inpatient care’
Heather Tierney-Moore opens her heart to the Evening Post to explain how vital the service is
WITH a career in the NHS spanning 30 years mental health chief Heather Tierney-Moore says the last thing she would want is to leave vulnerable patients in the lurch.
Although she insists she doesn’t underestimate the challenges that lie ahead in the massive shake-up of mental health provision, but claims the ultimate aim is to radically improve mental health services in Lancashire.
Heather, who has been chief executive of Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust for the last 20 months, says: “One of the things that made me want to work in mental health services was recognising that the people we serve are some of the most vulnerable people in society and they deserve better services than they may have had in the past.
“From a personal point of view, I have been a carer myself for people with mental health issues as my mother had mental health problems and I have also had friends who have been affected by mental health problems.
“Inevitably, in trying to improve things, there has to be change and we realise that change is very unsettling for the people it affects and it causes concern.
“We are fundamentally trying to improve mental health services in Lancashire, but it is a 10-year programme.”
The reason given by mental health bosses for the decision to close the Avondale Unit is that it is in preparation for existing mental health services being relocated to modern purpose-built units.
Health chiefs announced a few years ago their aim to replace Lancashire’s 15 existing mental health facilities with four purpose-built “super” mental hospitals over the next 10 years.
The first of the planned units relate to a new mental health inpatient unit at Whyndyke Farm in Blackpool which has only recently received outline planning approval.
In Preston, the chosen site for a super mental hospital was where the existing Ribbleton Hospital currently stands and the plan was to rip it up and build a new unit.
Heather emphatically denies “super” mental hospitals are “pie in the sky” visions: “I can guarantee that Whyndyke Farm will happen and will be open in early 2013.
“There is a clear commitment to replace the inpatient beds we have with new hospital builds with high quality environments.
“We are continuing to work with the primary care trusts about when the next builds can be done, but we can’t say precisely when that will happen as it will be done in stages.
“The plans for further mental hospitals have not been dropped.”
When pressed further, Heather admits: “The new Government has asked for a review of major reconfiguration programmes across the NHS nationally.
“As a result of this, there is some extra work which we have to do with primary care trusts in re-visiting the plans from 2006.
“The intention to build these super mental hospitals is absolutely there.
“As as trust, we are committed to replace the poor standard of inpatient beds with state-of-the-art facilities.
“It would be disingenuous of me to say that I can absolutely guarantee that the other super mental hospitals will happen as one of the difficulties with a 10-year programme is that the world changes.”
When asked why the decision was made to close the Avondale Unit BEFORE the new units have been built, Heather says the priority was to invest in services that meant people with acute mental health illness could be cared for in other ways rather than just inpatient services.
She says: “Across Lancashire, we had far more inpatient beds than you would expect for the population compared to the rest of England.
“So the priority was to invest in services that gave people other options rather than just inpatient care.
“For a lot of people, the they would prefer to be cared for in their own home rather than be admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit.
“We have invested an extra £2m to expand our crisis home treatment service from one to three teams.
“As a result of that investment, it has meant fewer people want and need to be admitted to an inpatient unit so the number of beds we need has been reduced.”
Since the Evening Post revealed that the Avondale Unit would close on December 31 this year, we have heard that three beds have already been taken away and bosses want to reduce 50% of the beds by November.
When asked about this, Heather admitted it was true. She explains: “To close a unit safely, you need to do it gradually and we are taking a very cautious approach to this.
“I want to assure people that the date of December 31 is a target for closure and in the event that it cannot be achieved because the beds are needed, we would not then shut it.
“There is a difference between having a plan and then implementing it in response to needs and we might have to re-think our plans.”
Many people claim the decision to close Avondale will cost lives, but Heather says this is just not true.
She says: “I completely rebutt that claim and I believe claims like this are unhelpful and just frighten people.
“I want to assure people that anyone who needs a mental health inpatient bed will get one and we will always try to make sure that bed is as near as possible to where they live.
“Mental health problems now affect one in four members of the public. But only a small proportion of these need inpatient care.”
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Comments
There are 11 comments to this article
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Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust
Friday, August 20, 2010 at 01:51 PMJust to let you know that we have set up a section on our website where we will be responding to comments and questions raised by newspaper stories. To view the page and see the responses, please visit www.lancashirecare.nhs.uk.php
winospleader
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 04:02 PMyoung lass - Nadia Southwood is perfectly entitled to her opinion on her partner being left in a room on his own. If the nurse was made aware of the background that lead to him being at A&E I'm inclined to agree that leaving him like that was a failure on the nurses part. Had there been scalpals or other sharps in the room (as there may well have been) , he could have used them to seriously injure or attempt suicide. It's not a question of a lack of funding for one to one care, it's a failure to apply common sense. That said, A&E staff work incredibly long hours for often little thanks and without great reward. I suspect that the nurse was well into a 12 hour shift, was tired, busy and was doing their best to alieviate Steve's clear anxiety by putting him in a side room rather than leaving him in the general waiting area.
winospleader
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 03:16 PMyoung lass - Nadia Southwood is perfectly entitled to her opinion on her partner being left in a room on his own. If the nurse was made aware of the background that lead to him being at A&E I'm inclined to agree that leaving him like that was a failure on the nurses part. Had there been scalpals or other sharps in the room (as there may well have been) , he could have used them to seriously injure or attempt suicide. It's not a question of a lack of funding for one to one care, it's a failure to apply common sense. That said, A&E staff work incredibly long hours for often little thanks and without great reward. I suspect that the nurse was well into a 12 hour shift, was tired, busy and was doing their best to alieviate Steve's clear anxiety by putting him in a side room rather than leaving him in the general waiting area.
kezzer
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 02:05 AMFirstly,Im glad Steve is getting better,I see all the issues here...is it financial,do RPH have other plans...its all about funding,hence the newish cancer unit...funding! All hospitals do it...set up a "specialist" unit....its just about money.One other point....Avondale is full of druggies,alcoholics and single mums with 4 kids that wanna break....I think its been run down by losers.Ok,some need help,but not real help like Steves case.BTW,my brother was admitted.....hes ok now,the staff are great!!
dude
Monday, August 16, 2010 at 08:48 PMPR Teach,the original poster was the one criticising,do try to keep up.We all have mental health issues,bottom line,its a cruel world out there,some people get unwell,some try to kill themselves some dont.
defacer
Monday, August 16, 2010 at 08:17 PMWhat a limp wristed selection of questions. Why couldnt you ask her why staff were asked to keep quiet about the closure? Ans because they wanted to stage mange procedings. Now the cats out they still havent had an official press conference because managers might have to actually show their faces. If these services are so 'vital' why is a whole unit being shut? When was the last time she visited one of the wards? In fact to answer LEP just show a picture of her to staff and see how many can recognise her. Ask her why strategic management decisions are being made by people who may not be in a job soon? If the unit is open longer than 31st of December wont most staff have been redployed? Pointless interview.
south123
Monday, August 16, 2010 at 07:53 PMAs the writer of this article I was by no means having a go at the NHS staff, if you read this article properly you will see from my campaign that I am working to support the NHS staff. The only nurse I did fault was the one in A&E who left him on his own. As for your comment 'dude' let me say that my partner and I did and still do talk about everything - You are the one out of order Mr!!
young lass
Monday, August 16, 2010 at 07:32 PMI think its very brave to come forward and tell your story , well done but having a go at other services is not fair ! when the government provides the nhs service with enough money to provide one to one care then you can expect individual care.
PRTeach
Monday, August 16, 2010 at 05:30 PMI have quite a lot of experience in this area and have to say this: - NHS services are truly lacking in the mental health sphere, especially when it comes to emergency care. -From my experiences all too often mental health care is woeful and does let down very vulnerable people. - 'Dude' - criticising people about something you clearly do not know very much about does not help. I really hope if the Avondale Unit does get closed down it is replaced by even better provision and that within emergency medicine there is soon better understanding of how to deal with people with mental health issues.
dude
Monday, August 16, 2010 at 12:25 PMIt strikes me this woman wants to have a good look at herself before she starts criticising nhs workers,what about the stress they face every single day of their working lives?,maybe if you and your boyfriend actually spoke to each other instead of "posting on facebook" this situation could have been alleviated.You are out of order Mrs.
dude
Monday, August 16, 2010 at 12:25 PMIt strikes me this woman wants to have a good look at herself before she starts criticising nhs workers,what about the stress they face every single day of their working lives?,maybe if you and your boyfriend actually spoke to each other instead of "posting on facebook" this situation could have been alleviated.You are out of order Mrs.
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