Rydon Ward

Rydon Ward 2023-07-04 Person 1 5 0

The MH system in Somerset is not fit for purpose

Rydon Ward 2023-03-28 Person 1 5 0

This supposed hospital was a terrible successor to its even worse predecessor, Tone Vale hospital. It failed to take proper medical histories and chose to inflict the thought and actions of its supposed psychiatric staff as a means to treat people/patients. It exposed patients to the risks of serious harm by use of techniques of both drug and ECT use, with improper use of mental health rules/laws, whilst ignoring basic medical histories of persons, threatening patients with criminal charges and despite the fact that some were seriously mentally ill, according to their psychiatric records, and resorting to in-patients obtaining short periods of leave from the unit and then committing suicide! Other patients obviously are supposed to improve whilst knowing these facts.

Rydon Ward 2022-07-09 Person 1 5 0

It's worse than a prison also absolutely so low on stimulus it defies common belief that places like this don't exist. They are like a punishment for being mentally unwell. Enforced medications and sectioning can be at the whim of very ego riddled psychiatrists. Uncaring clinical and not a place I'd recommend anyone send their relatives. Very traumatising to be in such conditions despair fills the walls and halls of this heartless and uncaring and downright damaging to any soul who finds themselves here. A culture of callousness pervades. Hearsay and misheardvor misremembered or made up reports are done on patients here. A very grim place to end up.

Rydon Ward 2020-12-29 Person 3 5 0

It's a sorry state to be in if you have to be admitted to hospital. Even more so if you're detained under the mental health act. It can be a very confusing, stressful and worrying time. The hospital is a clinical environment (as hospitals should be). It is thoroughly cleaned daily. It has adequate procedures in place to keep people safe. Unfortunately there are staff issues (Welcome to the NHS). Everyone involved in your care wants to help you get better. Please be mindful of this when speaking to staff. Especially the HCAs and nurses who work tirelessly long days and through the night, on changing shift patterns. Yes, hospital is a horrible place to be, by its nature there is a lack of privacy. But this is in place to ensure patient safety. Everyone wants you to get better as quickly as possible, please be patient and respectful. There are a lot of empathetic, understanding human beings in the building. They want to help you.

Rydon Ward 2019-12-15 Person 1 5 0

My family member was admitted this year to this ward. My first experience of this ward was very traumatic and distressing due uncaring staff, lack of organisation, and communication. My experience over the last few months has not improved and only got worst and this place should be investigated as it not fit for purpose. I would not want anybody to go through what we have been through as this place is totally shocking.

Rydon Ward 2019-12-13 Person 1 5 0

I was taken in this god awful place at the end of 2017, handcuffed and escorted by 2 policemen, like a guilty criminal. Taken upstairs to rydon 2 and dumped into an almost full to capacity ward of extremely sad, anxious and at times violent patients, i myself was attacked by an extremely disturbed lady on the 2nd day i was there and threatened on a further 2 occasions, the whole experience of the first 3-4 days was just confusing, traumatic and very upsetting, with seemingly no-one listening to you or your wishes or even basic civil rights as a human being. I was not told why i was there for almost a month, they just kept saying 'you know why you are here'. I was not made aware of any of my rights?, how long i may expect to be there?, what they thought the diagnosis was? and the medication was enforced, not mutually discussed and based on what may work for me. I had an allergic reaction to risperidone and then they changed me over to an oral suspension of haloperidol which gave me severe legs cramps and the first dose made my heart rate go up over 150bpm, at which point some 'real' nurses started running around pluging me into machines, testing my blood and urine and thankfully they gave me 'something' to bring my heart rate back to normal, it felt like i was going to die. It was at this point i was transferred to the halford ward, a place where, some of the in-patients said that this was the place they held the most dangerous and seriously disturbed patients, the section 3's... The following morning when i woke up i was totally disoriented,i didn't know the layout of the ward or any names of the members of staff or names of the patients, although most of us would introduce ourselves and get talking from there. The exercise/smoking yard was no larger than 8m square, i remember one of the patients pacing up and down for hours on end mumbling to himself, like a caged tiger he was fearsome and big and strong, he was also known for being very volitile and when it kicked off the staff response was always the same - the syringe full of a heavy sedative, sometimes when it got really bad, 6 staff/bodyguards would descend on the patient and often pin them down, 2 people on the arms, 2 people on the legs and 1 holding the head or holding the thumbs behind the back so as to prevent any movement, you could see they were all trained in restraint techniques. It was at this point i knew i had to get out, i was lucky i had the support of my family both my mum and dad and my sister came to see me on a regular basis, which was the highlight of my week but also the saddest, as i used to see them walking out to the car park back to their cars and back to the comfort of thier own homes, sundays were the worst for me, i used to miss a roast dinner and the poor excuse for food they gave us was limited to what looked like mass produced ready meals, but as much fruit and biscuits in the evening as you could grab before someone ate the lot. I did what i had to do to get out of there, i took the medication which made me feel nauseous and the tablets for the side effects, i agreed to their conditions of release and finally i was FREE !!! This place is not a care home, it is not a place where the staff genuinely care about the patients, it seems like a money making scheme created to employ uncaring students from Plymouth university, who walk around with condescending looks as they look into the computer/activities room and they look as if they are looking at zoo exhibits, arrogant with not a drop of compassion. They over - medicate far too often and are far too quick to medicate rather than the CBT approach to treatment, which can work for some people. It seemed more like we were like lab rats, giving us a whole cocktail of anti-phsycotics to see which worked best and very little care, compassion or opportunity to talk to someone. If you are thinking of self admitting to this place - don't. If you are concerned for a family member do not send them there, it could be something you'll regret for the rest of your life. Please seek alternative help, go somewhere else, look around, please, let's stop funding them by sending people there, if they have no patients they will have no business, this place needs to be closed - permanently. And finally i met this nice guy there with PTSD, i wish i hadn't, he swallowed a razor blade that night and later died in hospital from internal bleeding. THIS HORRIBLE PLACE MUST CLOSE SOON !! Their suicide rate is very hard to pin down, but i believe it to be more than they say it is.

Rydon Ward 2019-10-29 Person 1 5 0

lazy incompetent rude staff. they appear to not care about any of their patients and are often deeply patronizing.

Rydon Ward 2019-08-20 Person 1 5 0

They gave me pills as if they were sweets...it was like a tuck shop !!! . I am highly allergic to oral iron medications I was clearly to unwell to know what I was being given I Collapsed they just sent me to my room to sleep it off.

Rydon Ward 2019-04-20 Person 1 5 0

After the death of my daughter because the lack of care and looking after her, after being taken to this Rydon death trap ward by the police, she was able to walk out after less than half an hour of being admitted under the mental health act; and the result of her taking her own life that same day, DONT EVER GO THERE OR LET YOUR LOVED ONES GO THE OUT COME IS NOT A GOOD ONE. This all happened 1/02/2019. I do not care how many years to prove this place should be closed I will get my way so that no other mum goes through the heart break I am going through right now.

Rydon Ward 2019-04-19 Person 1 5 0

I stayed there many years ago, staff were disinterested, uncaring and at times damn right rude. I was not told anything about my care, they never asked how I was and I was locked in the cell and kept there for ages with a camera watching me in the corner which for someone suffering paranoia was very upsetting. no one asked if I had any dietary requiements - I could have been a vegetarian or had allergies and when you are severely unwell you often don't think to say this which is where basic common sense from nurses should come in, something completely lacking at rydon. I also had experience using the rydon out of hours and once again rude incompetent nursing. they did not show any compassion, wanted to be rid of you as quickly as possible and were no help at all. also worth pointing out that a few years back rydon ward had several suicides happen close together, an investigation showed repeated incompetency and lack of care that were factors in not preventing this.