ANOTHER XMAS WITHOUT ELIZABETH

I have been awake since 5.00 am though not because of excitement or preparing for Xmas day at home as there will be no Xmas Day for me like many other caring parents and relatives affected.

I am thinking right now of all those alone at Xmas and deprived contact with their sons/daughters/relatives who are held as prisoners for years and years on end under units strictly controlled by the NHS all over the country. I am also thinking of those abandoned in the community and in schemes where they are isolated where there will be no celebrations or family visits due to heavy restrictions. This is the reality of “care” in the UK today.

There will be no celebrations in my household today as I have a fair journey to make to visit for a one hour slot 2-1 supervised. That visit will be classed as “enhanced” supervision which is even colour coded by some NHS trusts. I still have not got over the traumatic visit to see Elizabeth last year. She was on an acute ward then but now moved to a rehab but still held in a highly restricted manner like you would expect from a secure unit. I cannot even compare this to prison as I have heard that visitors to a prison are treated more respectfully.

Pushing aside the family celebrations, the food and presents etc what is so bad is my request to take Elizabeth to church received no response other than “what church would you wish to take her to?” So I mentioned the cathedral since this is where Elizabeth went on line to post a couple of prayers to the effect that she wished to come home. That was three years ago now. So I again mentioned the Cathedral and also mentioned that a visit to church could perhaps be facilitated through the Chaplain’s office. I have now found out there is no Chaplain and therefore my daughter’s religious needs and that of others on the ward are not even being catered for.

Anyway, I have got together presents and money to give to Elizabeth today and chocolates to share amongst her friends on the ward. She phoned me last night to say that each patient had been given £10 to spend on a takeaway and that she was looking forward to this.

First of all the Post Office Scandal, now WASPI and currently the scandal of thousands of vulnerable people trapped on wards all over the Country, not forgetting Wales and Scotland. It is shocking what is going on in the UK today. I have recently written to Wes Streeting about this but received no response and then wrote to my MP, Victoria Atkins.

The effects of not being allowed meaningful contact with your relative and treated like a criminal is devastating and impacts upon your health wellbeing as a carer as well as being detrimental to the vulnerable person. No impact assessments have ever been carried out. I see it as the ultimate control and bullying. This is not compassionate care at all. It is not about protecting the vulnerable person and keeping them safe like they say. This is being done simply to protect the interests and pathway plans of the institution and I will explore the true reasons for all of this later following my visit to see Elizabeth.

Last year Elizabeth was thrown into seclusion when she became upset by all the note taking going on. I had no idea Police had been called on Xmas Day. Staff gathered outside the visitor’s room and just grabbed hold of her and put her in seclusion for simply just shouting and there was constant note taking throughout my visit which is against any caring professional’s code of conduct. Following last year’s visit I received a letter continuing my ban on visit with the verbal threat of this being indefinite by Elizabeth’s doctor. There appears to be no human rights and the law is being disregarded by professionals.

This year I hope Police will not be called on me again as this amounts to intimidation and bullying and last year I felt obliged to voluntarily complete a Section 9 statement which I doubt any staff members did likewise because the allegations could not be substantiated and outside of the visitor’s room there would have been CCTV.

This kind of treatment is devastating and impacts upon you greatly but no-one cares under the NHS and they ruthlessly continue with such restrictions against you as a parent/carer without a thought of how this is completely and utterly wrong./ There is no openness and transparancy about the real reasons behind so many thousands of vulnerable people spending a lifetime in these unsuitable institutions which can never replace home and family. Elizabeth has her own bungalow but the cost of keeping so many in such institutions amounts to hundreds and thousands of pounds per patient per year.

For any parents going through similar hell please feel free to write your very own story on my blog of how you are affected by deprivation of contact under institutional imprisonment on Xmas day and in general. I will be happy not only to feature other similar cases but post to the relevant politicians and anyone else as you may wish.