Red Nose Day

[Lindylou]

Wasn't able to watch the Red Nose programme on Friday so recorded the highlights. Have been watching them but cannot believe what I saw -- 24 million pounds spent on 100,000 mental health patients. I 'rewound' twice just to check the figures. Please tell me I've got it wrong. Kids dying - going blind - victims of abuse, etc etc. 24 million pounds!!!! for 100,000 mental health patients? No probs with money for mental health but I think its out of proportion for 24 million to be spent on 100,000 patients whatever the problem happens to be. I really really hope there's an explanation for this. Because I'm certainly NOT going to send anything to Comic Relief until there is.

[boxtops]

I'm not trying to justify it, lindylou, but have you any personal experience of people with mental health problems? I have, I have friends who havel family members with anything from clinical depression to bipolar disorder, not to mention those who are so unwell they have to be sectioned - it's a time consuming and labour intensive role to look after people with serious mental disorders. Mental health also covers people with learning disabilities, many of whom need 24-7 residential care. I agree it's a huge amount of money but you only have to look at the accounts for your local Health & Social Care Partnership Trust to see what they spend it on here in the UK - overseas, the aid goes much further.

[bednobs]

isnt that only about £240 per person or is my maths crap?
thats less than 1 night in hospital, or a couple of outpatient appointments or 1 or 2 day trips each!

[tezmand]

i work in mental health until you work in this profession you have no idea what life for these people is like it can happen to anyone of us at anytime i would rahter it be spent on something like that than send oit all abroad sorry but i think charity begins at home in this case uk

[Maydup]

I agree with Bednobs' maths and that £240 per person doesn't go far at all really. Hopefully by ring fencing £24m it will go further as a whole than £240 per person could ever do. Its that large scale investment that we cannot afford by any other means at the moment , but that is so necessary in this climate. Although I'd hate to be the one decide who gets and who doesn't!

[Lindylou]

Sorry folks but I worked in a Mental Health Hospital for over 15 years. Still can't understand how this much donated cash is justified. The treatment our patients received, via the NHS, is more than appropriate. Where is this extra cash supposed to help? No Boxtops, I don't have any 'personal' experience - i.e. no relatives with mental health probs. But I was in daily contact with mental health patients and their relatives. And I do have friends (and their families) who experience mental health problems. Please understand, I do sympathise with those who suffer from mental health probs, but I really (REALLY!!) think these problems are catered for via NHS mental health hospitals/institutions/units, whatever you want to call them, appropriate for each patients' needs and it is not necessary to use this large amount of money, donated by caring individuals, for this, relatively small, amount of service users when it could be put to better use elsewhere.

[shivvy]

Hi Lindy. When you worked in a mental health hospital you were seeing the patients that were already in hospital and therefore receiving care. My experience of the system is community-based and it certainly seems to have serious funding problems resulting in many people waiting months upon months to receive psychiatric services/support.

[ummmm]

Are you serious?

[ummmm]

Lindy...did you work in finance for the 'mental health' hospital?

Because if you didn't how would you have a clue how much is spent per person?

The 'psychiatric' hospital I worked at cost £500 a day minimum...

[AlBags]

Was it Saint C Ummmm?
My mother worked there yeeeeers ago.

[Lindylou]

No ummm - I didn't work in Finance. The NHS are funded (by us) and they provide the care as appropriate for each patient in the mental health care system. The service users don't usually spend nights in London hotels. The service users who receive care in the community have been assessed by Psychiatrists and usually have a designated Community Psychiatrist Nurse assigned to them. They have regular outpatient appointments and their medication is monitored. If their condition deteriorates (usually because they stop taking their medication) then they are readmitted (or sectioned if necessary) back to residential care to be sorted out again. Much of the problem stems from addictions, to either drugs or alcohol. I still think this is an inappropriate amount of money to be designated for this group of people.