Lifestyle/Community
Tip of the iceberg
I received an e-mail on Monday last week and although it was not unusual, it occurred to me that anyone not in the know wouldn’t realise the significance of the message and how it hints at something much larger and infinitely more complex. It simply said, “Please be advised that (name of resident at our mental health facility) was admitted today to Ward 487 at the Jo’burg Gen.”
MICHAEL SIEFF
What that means is that something has gone wrong that we are not equipped to deal with within our facility and need help from a state or private hospital.
So what could have happened to escalate a patient’s condition? There are many possibilities. The 85 residents in our mental health facilities suffer from a variety of mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, depression, OCD, substance abuse, schizophrenia, eating disorders, etc. They are invariably on psychiatric medication to help them manage these difficult conditions.
Prescriptions are filled at government hospitals where supply is erratic, alternatives (not always helpful) are provided and changes made without notice or consultation. Sometimes their medication is not available at all – not anywhere – and sudden discontinuation can lead to serious withdrawal symptoms.
That’s one scenario and I won’t minimise the challenges it poses for us. But there are others too, like the fact that trauma, stress, hormonal changes and a build-up of resistance can render medication previously effective, useless. There are times when a physical illness can lead to a change in mental health and even times when the cycle of the illness itself indicates medication revision.
But state hospitals often refuse to accept our patients – they are short of beds, of staff, of everything. Ours is not a lock-up facility and if a patient is sent back to us in a psychotic state, we face a sizeable problem.
In a strange way then, the e-mail was good news. In a psychiatric hospital ward we are hopeful that residents will be stabilised and discharged. And while there, we maintain contact with them through our hospital liaison programme, tracking their progress, visiting and sending food and toiletries.
Still better news was the e-mail I received a few days later saying: “Please be advised that (name of resident at our mental health facility) was today discharged and is back at Sandringham Lodge.”
May our partnership continue to thrive!
Feedback@thechev.org.za