"Good, but some shortages"

About: Sligo General Hospital / Psychiatry Sligo Leitrim Adult Mental Health Inpatient Unit Sligo Leitrim Mental Health ID service Sligo/Leitrim Mental Health Services / Sligo Adult Community Mental Health Services

(as a service user),

Ongoing lack of available clinical psychologist on this team is a serious bummer, a situation which has been in effect for the better part of a decade as I understand?

Would it kill them to get a replacement psychologist, or God forbid they may have two clinical psychologists available consistently on their team?

The HSE also provides an online assistance measure called "choice and medication" which is normally paywalled I believe, but available free through their domain? 
Access to this information in a time of crises was a game changer for me, as it eventually allowed me to step in an implement the changes I felt were necessary in my own treatment, instead of just nodding to psychiatrist and blindly swallowing medication I was told would benefit me but often seemed to be doing the opposite.
The choice-and-medication handy-charts break everything down so it's very understandable, even when in crises (i.e. when your brain is fried and processing any kind of information is a monumental task).
Plus when a Dr asks, -what can I do for you? How do you expect me to help you?, it's possible to respond with something substantive as the handy-charts provide some insight into what the medications do and don't do.
Of course if one were to take the initiative, any amount of medication information is available online, but again in a time of crises trying to come to terms with a new and complicated area of science - "serotonin..... wut? Noradrenaline.... what's that? Receptor-protein binding..... who's he??" - is as above, basically an impossibility.

Overall, great service. But non-availability of a clinical psychologist sucks and if there's one "catch-phrase" of sorts that I'd advocate for, it would simply be, patient EDUCATION (pertaining to drug therapy and on some level, information on the neurology underwriting recovery), BEFORE treatment administration" (i.e. before your five minute Dr appointment and the course of treatment prescribed therein, which can more or less determine your well being until your next appointment).

Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Donagh O'Neill, Consultant Psychiatrist, South/West Sligo Team, Sligo Leitrim Mental Health Services 12 months ago
Donagh O'Neill
Consultant Psychiatrist, South/West Sligo Team,
Sligo Leitrim Mental Health Services
Submitted on 18/09/2023 at 10:02
Published on Care Opinion at 10:02


picture of Donagh O'Neill

Dear aurigatm46,

Thank you for taking the time to post on Care Opinion. I fully agree that an unfilled Clinical Psychology post impacts on clinical care within the Community Mental Health Team. I am aware that the HSE are making efforts to address the lack of Clinical Psychology within the team.

I am pleased that you have found Choice and Medication to be of benefit and hope that the link for Choice and Medication which is contained on appointment letters can allow other service users to access evidenced based information regarding appropriate treatments for their mental health difficulties.

Kind regards,

Dr Donagh O’Neill

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k