Independent enquiry into southern health acute psychiatric wards
Independent enquiry into southern health acute psychiatric wards
We are asking for an independent investigation into the recent deaths of service users at psychiatric hospitals run by Southern health.
We need psychiatric hospitals to be more accountable for the way in which they protect people under their care. We also desperately need real changes to be made in response to feedback given and complaints raised.
Mental illness is a growing health problem in our society, especially since Covid. More and more people are increasingly vulnerable. Hospitals need to be safe, compassionate environments for patients to safely recover. However patients and carers are let down again and again.
My story is not unlike many others I've heard. I have schizoaffective disorder and complex ptsd. I also have PTSD from many admissions to Parklands and other hospitals run by southern health. I have been put in dangerous situations and been made to feel like a nuisance for being unwell.
I have had to fight for the correct diagnosis twice in 6 years due to diagnostic changes made by inpatient doctors that I had only met once. This led to unhelpful treatment pathways or no treatment offered at all. It also led to me feeling as if no one believed my experiences. This was so damaging.
I have also made complaints when I have had an admission that has caused me physical or mental harm. Each time, the result was complete denial of responsibility by the staffing team and no action taken. I have known several people who have lost their lives. I strongly feel that the deaths of each of these beautiful, kind people could have been prevented had they been listened to by inpatient or outpatient services.
The recent news has been a trigger for so many southern health service users, and for valid reasons. For me, it is the fear that more people are unnecessarily harmed and that not enough will change.
Please sign to start an independent investigation and get some justice for those let down by the system. We hope that doing so will create the change that is needed to bring mental health care into the 21st century.