Journey from high to medium mental health support

So hi Aaron, you just want to tell me a little bit about yourself? Alright, my name's Aaron. I'm 30 years old, 31 tomorrow. Um, I've had a, yeah, birthday boy. Um, I've had a lot of experience in and out of hospitals, PQ walls to medium secure units, to high supported to medium supported accommodation

Been a rocky road, uh, yeah, it's been a journey. Yeah. And can you tell me a little bit about your experiences of the care and support you've received? Um, well, from hospital, the transition out of hospital was a bit quick, and that really put a lot of um stuff in place in the community, so when I got released from hospital to the highest supported accommodation, it was um not a lot of stuff put in place, so I was basically empty hands is a devil's idol

I had a lot of time on my plate, so I managed to fall back into bad habits. Um, and then when things did get put in place for me to be able to better myself in the community, the bad habits already started, so I was already in and out of a slippery slope, and then when the help was there to better myself, I was already in a cycle where I would rather do the bad habits than to better perfect myself. So I think a bit more extra help and to put people's journey in the community in place before we actually leave hospital

it's can be a very rocky road, especially if you're. Easily persuaded or you've got a weak mindset to be able to go back to bad habits, and shamely I was one of them people. But now I'm on a path which I believe if it was put in place before I left hospital, I would have accomplished by now more greater things

What, what were some of the things that were problematic in in the hospital? Um, well, from being in hospital, there was a lot of corruption. There was a lot of staff offering to bring cannabis into the wards, alcohol, tobacco, um, so all little stuff. So for me personally, when I went into the hospital, my family had it in their head that yeah I'm in a safe place, but little did they know I was still there being actively using drugs

Which was bad for my family to hear. But um yeah, I think that was quite upset to to actually acknowledge that there is so much corruption in the hospital settings. And I think in hospital, there's a lot of staff there that just come for a paycheck and then you've actually got them staff that will take their time out of their day and actually help you and

Actually understand where you're coming from, and then what you hear in hospital a lot is it's not my job. It's, I'm on break, I ain't got time to do this, and they bring a lot of their emotions outside into hospital and that affects of other people cos you start to feel aura of people and there's a lot of attitude and a lot of resentment towards certain people from staff to patients, from patients to staff. And I just think a lot of things can be done a lot better

When you went I mean you clearly you didn't expect it to be like that when you went into hospital. Did you expect that you would get when it was explained to me when I was first ever put on the section, it was explained to me that I was there to be helped, to be bettered, and it would be a safe environment. But my first experience of actually going into hospital and them saying to me that it was a safe environment, as soon as I walked through the door, they come to me with a pot of pills

Not even come to me and ask me how am I feeling, what's your mood, what's your state of mind, how are you feeling, are you experiencing anything at the moment that it's out of the ordinary, like instead of sitting down and having an ear to listen to, I was approached first thing with a pot full of pills. And I was forced to take them pills and I refused to, so therefore I was restrained and then had medication forced onto me, which was a very frightening and daunting experience, especially for the first time where they're telling me I'm going there to be helped. And I'm thinking right, I'm gonna be there and there's gonna be a lot of help produced for me and for me to have to grasp and help myself, and like I said when I was greeted, I was greeted if I put a pill straight away and that really

Put a big damage on my mindset to understand that I'm there to be helped, but as soon as I walk through the door, you don't when you wanna ask me how I'm feeling or whatever, you're just signing the paperwork, right, it's here for this, that, whatever. There's a pot of pills. So I mean in a state of mind was at the moment, I refused the pills

I said I don't want no pills. They said, right, we bring the team in. I didn't understand what they meant by bringing the team in, but as soon as they was there and I was trying to say no, I, I'll I'll I'll comply

I'll comply with you. But then it was too late, they restrained me. And that was a very scary experience for me

And I know we spoke at the last workshop quite a lot, but do you feel that you, you had a voice in that environment at all? Did people listen or? I, I, I think when you go into the hospital, a lot of staff, and I've seen it on certain patients that are there for something different than what I was to be there for and staff's attitudes towards different patients to how they treated me per se, was in a different respect level. There were certain patients that didn't have a voice, and especially when you got a certain diagnosis. And when you've got a certain diagnosis, they say you've got a voice what happens to you in your care, but in that moment in time, if a doctor says that you haven't got the right mind capacity at that time to say, to make your own decisions, they make it for you

So in aspect, they say you have got a voice, but even if you do use that voice, it's not gonna be hurt. Like I said, certain diagnosis is you haven't really got a voice cos they could just turn around and go, Ivan don't know what he's talking about today, he's having a bad day. Like we think this is good for you, they don't really want to hear your voice, cos at that moment of time, let's say you're unwell or you can't make appropriate decisions for yourself, it gets forced onto you anyway, so it ain't really like you've got a voice cos if that nurse on charge speaks to the consultant and says right, Aaron's approaching this way today, he's he's being assisted looking this way

Before you know it, they're coming up to you with a pill. And if you don't wanna take that pill, bad things are gonna happen. And, and how did that make you, how does that make you feel? Upset, angry

You're supposed to be there to be helped, but um you do get help in some aspect. But like I said, different people in there for different things and different diagnosis, diagnosis, sorry, it's very, it's very hard to voice what you really want to say because sometimes you don't really wanna open your voice cos you're sick of getting your voice be heard when it never gets heard. When you ask for something to be done

It's always the other way how they want it to be done. Yeah, so. So what's, what's different about the support that you get now? Well, from going from hospital in and out of many

Many um sections this time on my ropala good things have been put in place. I do psychology, which has been put in place. Um, I've been helped and because my thing in the community or even in any setting, if I can't rationalise something in my own head and help myself to understand it, I find it hard to express myself to somebody if I can't understand it, I find it hard to express myself to someone for them to understand it

So if I can't rationalise it in my own head, then I find it hard to talk about it, but that's just through my experience through hospital. Do you think Do you think that's unique to to people in your situation or do you think generally people need to understand things? I think in this system there's a lot of people out here that including staff members that. They I live for one thing and one thing only, and the attitude they have, it's just like they're there just to get that money

And um. Yeah, but the transitions from going in and out, and like I said on my heart it was. It was, it was, it was a hard road

Yeah, yeah. So, so, um, where, where do you live now? I live in a medium supported accommodation. What does that mean? Uh, that is basically when you come from a high supported setting which is 24 hour staff, someone on, um, base 24/7, and I transitioned from high support to medium, which is staff from 9 till 5 or later if they've got to do their works

Uh, no staff on the weekends, self-contained flat. Where you, everything's in there basically and it just helps you to prepare to move on to your own independent living in your own premises. Yeah, and what kind of support then comes with that? Um, well, at Medium, you have key work sessions, they help you with any, um, uh, issues you have

Uh, they help you with your finances, help you to move on, making appointments, getting to places, and my experience, I've actually had a lot more support in the medium than I did actually in the higher, which is a bit. I think it sounds a bit weird cos you think you'll get more support in the higher than you would in the medium, but I'm actually getting more support in the medium than the high, which I think the support I'm getting in the medium now, if that was in the high, our transition would have been a lot more smoother. Yeah

Yeah, so I was gonna say what would have made a a a difference with that, but you've started to um. Touch on that, we'll just let the plane go over. Um

So, yeah, it, it's um It is really interesting that that you, that you say that there isn't anything like that that's available then in the, in the high. In the high support you've got uh your medication being monitored, you have cooking sessions, whatever the house provides, there's always something going on. But the help that I've got in medium to have things were set up easier and better for me

Yeah, more support in the media than I he, it sounds a bit weird, but that's what my experience is. Yeah. And what are your hopes for what, what next? My hopes are for next is um carry on on the path that I'm living

Uh, keep steadfast, keep being happy and keep doing what I'm doing and. Yeah, I should be OK. Yeah

Have you got any particular sort of dreams in terms of what you want to do? Um, yeah, me personally, I took so much out of the system and I put so much burdening in the world from a young age, going in and out of young offenders, all different sorts of settings. I took took so much away from the world. Now I just wanna give things back and I get a lot of great satisfaction from

Actually doing something that in my head is beneficial, so I just want to give back. Brilliant, thank you.