Basildon Mental Health Unit

Basildon Mental Health Unit 2023-05-21 Person 4 5 0

I feel all staff have been very caring, helpful and compassionate. Dhorothy in particular has been very caring and gone at her way.

To make sure I am more comfortable making sure I have or want everything I need.

Basildon Mental Health Unit 2023-05-18 Person 5 5 0

Basildon Mental Health Unit 2023-05-12 Person 1 5 0

Left waiting. Not feeling safe here. Don't feel I'm safe to go home.

Everything. Don't have non work related conversations having told me you may or may not be able to triage me before tye end of your shift. Might be the night shift!

Basildon Mental Health Unit 2023-04-26 Person 5 5 0

Arriving at A&E in my most distressed and despairing, confused state of mind, I felt immediately listened to and cared for. The nurse quickly told me about the UCT and I was sent to them within 10 minutes. No hanging around A&E. It was an amazing level of support. The Urgent Care Team basically saved my life. I had been trying to progress my GPs OOA community referral since 27/3 and by this time I was broken and afraid and desperate. My friend drove me to the Basildon, as a last resort, to expedite the referral. My thinking was very disturbed and my thoughts were frightening me a great deal. The team all tried hard to help me. But by the end of the day, the red tape got the better of all of us (on 15/3) and the nurses couldn’t progress my referral any further. But they made a plan for me that I could call them across Sunday if I needed to and they agreed I should return on Monday (17th) to meet Dr Menesh and hopefully make some more concrete decisions about my treatment. They encouraged me to call them as I couldn’t access the crisis team from surrey (as 111, option 2, doesn’t reach Basildon from surrey). The offer, to call UCT was genius and kept me feeling safe until Monday. I’d been waiting 3 wks since my referral was sent and my MH had been deteriorating by the day - I could feel that happening. Very anxious, seeing and hearing and thinking many unpleasant things. Scared. Suicidal. Dr Menesh, Mel, Louise, Zoya, you were all beautifully kind and honest and caring throughout. Dr Menesh, you have the kindest manner. I was very afraid of the suggested admission but you helped me trust you and accept it. I knew you were right about that. Although I was shocked and scared by this step, it was the hugest relief to have you all there helping me. I will be forever grateful to you. Mel, what you did for me while I was on the ward was very beyond all expectations. I will never forget the bottle and the visiting strings you had to pull. I was also grateful when you held my hand, quite literally from the start, and told me many times that I’d get better. Zoya and Louise, you did that too. Thank you so much.

Every single staff member was compassionate and went overboard to help me. The whole team tried their best. I’m sorry there was so much bureaucracy to circumvent but I am relieved I found you. I am the lucky one.

Basildon Mental Health Unit 2023-04-13 Person 1 5 0

Worst experience of my life. I’m left with severe PTSD from the trauma I experienced during my time in cherry down unit. Had no therapy apart from ect against my will. “Was put on my arse” and restrained so many times left covered in bruises. Staff lied about their observations, would sit on their phones or sleep. I was given the wrong medication pressed the alarm, other patients tried to help me as I was being sick and passing out. When the staff member came I was told to just go to sleep as it was after night time meds. In the end it just felt like the patients were the only ones there for each other. So not surprised there are over 2000 deaths. After care in the community is non existent. Worst experience of my life. Chanel 4 documentary was mild compared to the treatment myself and others experienced while I was an inpatient in cherry down mental health unit.

Basildon Mental Health Unit 2023-04-05 Person 5 5 0

All the staff from both the night and day shift were incredibly kind, gentle, understanding, supportive, patient and very generous with all the care they provided and everything they did too.

I personally couldn’t flaw any of the staff or the care and support that was provided to me.

Basildon Mental Health Unit 2023-03-29 Person 5 5 0

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Basildon Mental Health Unit 2022-11-20 Person 1 5 0

If you can avoid sending your LO to psychiatric care do. They will not be treated with respect. Not every staff member is abusive but too many staff members stand by and allow it. The wards are depressing in themselves there isn’t anything to do. I have had a number of admissions and have seen the following Patients openly self harming until bleeding (staff not acting) Stay on 1:1 reading book while patient picks stitches Staff stealing from other staff and patients Poo on walls. Smell of urine Patients sleeping with each other. No care plans Shared dorms Staff bullying patients. Improper restraint- restraint then not documented. Medication inappropriately used or threatened. Patients often not treated with dignity. Personal items such as female underwear being searched in an open area by male staff in full view of other patients. The care is awful. It doesn’t really count as care. It isn’t safe. Senior management cover up issues instead of addressing them.

Basildon Mental Health Unit 2022-07-29 Person 1 5 0

My name is Sam Richfield I was brought in from police custody after falling off of a building 50ft (not a suicide attempt) upon arrival I had all of my things taken off of me and they were locked away and scattered around the ward making it difficult for the next staff on shift to find my stuff. I had a seriously broken leg and knee and was on crutches, I nearly fell over in the shower wet rooms 100's of times and was forced to take drugs I didn't want. They put me in the ward with the most violent of patients. The staff were terrible and laughed at us and wound members up on purpose to get them to kick off. I was in there for two weeks and finally got to see the doctor who without even talking to me said you have psychosis and wanted to give me a brain altering tablet which I refused. Two more weeks went by and I still refused the meds and was the most normal person in there including the staff! Then one night I was sat in bed reading the bible and 10-15 big black men burst into my room grabbed my bad leg and other leg and injected 150MG of a anti-psychotic which was the strongest dose. I ended up in A and E because of this and nearly died. The doctor was scared of me after issuing them to jump on me and removed himself as my doctor and went on holiday for a couple of weeks where I had a new doctor take over. He seemed nice at first and said you're not crazy and if you keep your head down I will let you out in a week, one week went by and I kept my head down and he refused to let me out and upgraded me to a section 3 giving me less powers and say in what goes in my body. I was given the choice of accepting tablets or being pinned down and jabbed again. weeks went by and I was moved into a lesser secure ward but this ward had a tiny box garden with no sunlight or grass, trees, any form of normal nature and it was worse than the other ward. He still wouldn't let me out and some good staff members were questioning why I was still being kept in. He finally let me go home but I had to take these tablets which landed me in hospital AGAIN. What the doctor didn't understand and wouldn't listen to was I have a depleted dopamine level due to having ADHD and the tablets all worked on dopamine transmitters. Therefore giving me tablets can cause serious sides which I had and landed me in hospital for the second time. I have been sectioned 3 times in the space of a year through battles with the police. By far basildon was the worst. The patients get fat, forced to take tablets that cause their estrogen to sky rocket, rude staff who are there to get paid who fall asleep on the job and huff and puff at the slightest request. Not all the staff were bad Godwin and Gabriel were angels. DO NOT GO HERE and if you end up here good luck on getting out without ruining your brain chemistry for life.

Basildon Mental Health Unit 2020-11-11 Person 1 5 0

Even though I was a voluntary patient, I was searched upon arrival and my thyroxine for hypothyroidism was taken away from me. A week later I realised they were not giving it to me and I insisted on leaving. The senior staff member calmed me down and persuaded me not to leave. A female staff nurse Once burst angrily in to the toilet, (they have access keys), while I was urinating to accuse me of smoking, she did not apologise and stood for a while in the doorway. I have never smoked cigarettes. Also I had not left the ward at all in that time. Another small Far Eastern Asian looking nurse accused me of smoking in the dorm, without any evidence. I knew who it was who was smoking but did not tell her. A male nurse from Zimbabwe shoved me in the back and accused me of taking photos while they were restraining a woman to take to the high security wing. The one shower for men was a mess in the morning as everyone scrambled to get to it before it became too dirty and slimy. This is how it works, get up say nothing sit down all day. They lock the dorms so you can’t sleep of the effects of the drugs in comfort . You had to be very friendly to the catering woman on the ward as she was permanently in a foul mood. Visits by the psychiatrists were rare. Dr Heydari told me she is also concerned about the conditions there and agreed with my comments, Especially as I described the ward I was in as a rectangle, half of which is out of bounds to male patients. she seems to be a caring person, but I only met her after discharge and she showed her abrasive nature once by chastising a member of staff in front of my wife and I. After discharge Dr Mundempilly put me through 16 treatments of ECT, the official guidelines are for a maximum of 12. Before that I had some moments of happiness but my life has never returned to pre ECT, I have never had a happy day since. During the ECT that Dr Pillay at Grays Hall suggested I would have appointments with her but I do not remember any of them. She told me to stop running which I knew from experience was my only way of coping with mental illness. Her decision set me back four years. Thats how long it took me to remember what benefits running has and it has taken me two more years to get fit enough again. My admission was to try out a new generation of anti psychotic which gave me dangerously high blood pressure and raised heart rate. All other anti psychotics are life threatening for me. Lithium gave me hypothyroidism. I have never been given an official diagnosis. My treatment has spanned over ten years now. Dr Pillay wants me to go for tertiary care (admission) again, but I know that you have no voice once they get you behind those doors, it’s your word against theirs and you will be accused of psychotic behaviour. dr Pillay and Dr. Mundempilly wanted to section me after I attempted suicide because the ECT turned my intellect against me, suddenly I could not even remember places I had visited for the last fifteen years. It made me drink alcohol again after abstaining for twenty years. My wife objected strenuously to me being sectioned. Psychiatry is not a science, they have more power and operate without accountability and have less empathy than the police. Do not allow your loved ones to become trapped in the mechanism that this service offers. The only way to protect yourself is to know your legal rights and have someone on the outside to protect you. Everything on the ward takes forever and your life is inconsequential. I no longer trust anyone, I do not believe they are looking after my health. I am certain I would have done them a great favour if my first suicide attempt had been successful. If you do end up in the ward do not expect any social interaction with the staff, the patients are able to give you much better advice and empathy than the consultants. Note, the staff in the common area canteen were great. The nurses who took my vitals were very good and friendly, the environment, decor and Bolshevik regime are not helpful. I am now more comfortable being asocial and avoiding humans as much as possible. Being in the confines of Basildon mental health unit and undergoing ECT has taught me to keep out of people’s way, don’t bother me please and I won’t bother you.