Dr Saalim Mirza MRCPsych

Written by a NHS patient at Penn Hospital

Steps to health medical team including their amazing receptionist JK & Doctor SM have both been very kind understanding patient professional & empathetic. They both helped me with both my enquiry and medical needs. I am very happy to recommend this service to those who need the help & support from a professional understanding respectful service.

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Listening

Written by a NHS patient at Penn Hospital

Doctor spent time on the phone appointment getting to know how I was truly doing and I felt very listened to. The doctor showed empathy and listened to my concerns.

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Listening

Written by a NHS patient at Penn Hospital

I had the pleasure of seeing this polite psychiatrist for a follow-up. I have to say it was a very positive, fruitful and reassuring experience that I have ever had with a doctor in a long time. I have been suffering from anxiety, panic attacks, nightmares, mood swings, self-harming etc. for what feels like my entire life, and for the first time this doctor took the time to really listen to me and to apply his medical knowledge to help me understand and make sense of my symptoms and experiences, and reach a diagnosis that finally seems to explain everything I have got. I feel that other professionals that I have encountered have been in hurry to pass on a diagnosis to me without going deeper into the details of my history. I had been varyingly diagnosed with depression, anxiety, panic disorder, emotionally unstable/borderline personality disorder and even psychosis by various professionals, but they all gave me antidepressants that never helped. It was Dr Mirza who identified that I may actually be suffering from complex PTSD because of childhood trauma that I have faced, and suggested that I should try mood stabilisers after carefully examining the patterns of my mood swings. He was very sensitive and empathetic throughout the process. I also felt that he was very honest as he did not sell the medication as a magic cure, but rather explained to me openly and honestly that there was a chance they may not work or may only work partially but we will only know unless we try. He is also the first person who has referred me for trauma focussed psychotherapy on the basis that my condition is likely to respond best to a combination of medication and talking therapy rather than medication alone. I left the appointment feeling relieved, positive, and hopeful. Although I have just started my treatment and it is still early days, the relief I feel simply by knowing that I have been listened to and my problems have been understood, has been worth it. It gives me a lot of hope for my recovery in the future. I am really grateful to Dr Mirza and will gladly recommend him to anyone who has a complex mental health problem.

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Listening

Written by a NHS patient at Hallam Street Hospital

Please take time to read this as I would very much like to share this with the relevant professionals. My son has been struggling recently with anxiety and panic attacks, and at his request an earlier than planned appointment was arranged with Dr Mirza 4/11/21 11a.m for 30 minutes. Dr Mirza spent an hour and twenty minutes with Jack and myself listening and explaining his condition with us, and giving him outcome options. In my experience with various Mental Health professionals Dr Mirza is by far one of a kind. He has great knowledge of his patients and their condition and explains this so well with empathy, support, reassurance and may I say an interest. I know how busy this consultant is, yet he never showed this to us, he has the ability where many have failed to engage with my son in a way that he listens and trusts him. This is a rare quality I can assure you. My son trusts very few people and rarely engages, however I am very happy to say that Dr Mirza has done this. I feel his team has a real Gem here and his patients and his fellow professionals are so lucky to have him. For the first time in nearly 7 years my son came out of that consultation feeling really good about himself and positive, he said he felt he gained a lot from the consultation , and felt reassured that Dr Mirza understood him and treated him very much as an individual and not a number. He really is amazing at his job and it shows that he has a real passion for his work, long may he continue . I do hope he gets to know how much he is appreciated for the excellent work he does.

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Listening

Written by a NHS patient at Penn Hospital

i was greatly disappointed after my appointment with this psychiatrist. within 5 minutes of speaking over the phone he had already doubted my original diagnosis of BPD without even knowing anything about me or speaking to me. changed my diagnosis to C-PTSD based off a few nightmares i had when i was 16 years old. i stated i rarely have these nightmares and rarely ever did have them. when i doubted this change, he stated the only difference between BPD and C-PTSD is nightmares, to which i exclaimed how this does not make sense. i wasn’t allowed to go into detail about relationships with partners, family or friends and my moods because i was being cut off a lot, i didn’t feel i was listened to whatsoever and i believe his mind was made up about changing my diagnosis before he had ever spoke to me. when i mentioned the ADHD clinic has told me it’s likely i have autism, he insinuated its not that important to find out because i am probably high functioning, which this person would not know seeing as he has never spoke to me before or asked me any questions relating to autism. he treated this as an assessment appointment when it was meant to be a follow up appointment. He told me to look up C-PTSD to further understand it, and me and my family all agree it is gravely inaccurate and does not describe me whatsoever. this scares me more as medication can be different for both and i don’t react well to certain types. he told me i’d be seen again in a couple of months but i got a letter through the post saying my next appointment is in february 2023. in the first appointment i had with this clinic 6 months ago, the lady i was seen by let me speak my feelings freely and then we came to a conclusion of BPD, ADHD and autism. that appointment felt more accurate and as if i was actually listened to. i don’t believe the man i spoke to in this appointment listened to me at all, or gave an accurate diagnosis. The only positive thing i could say is he is apparently going to push the ADHD clinic to give me medication sooner.

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