Ways to dismiss a Service User's complaints.

The majority of people involved with Beds in the Orchard have been treated in the community, and most have been treated as an inpatient as well.  Many of the other people involved have first hand experience of their friend or relative being treated.

Some of us have made complaints before to the people we have contact with.  These are some of the responses that we've had.

They're ill and don't know what they're saying. (When a family member passed on a complaint).

Here's a form to fill in.

I've heard about your problem, but I'm unable to deal with it right now.

That didn't happen.

You're remembering that wrong.

You're being manipulative.

You're too reliant on services.

What do you want us to do at this time?

You're upset at the moment, why not take a nice bath to relax?

Have you spoken to your care coordinator?

You must have misunderstood.

I'm sorry you feel upset. 

I'm sure that's not how it was intended.

We're very busy you know.

You're not the only patient.

Sorry to hear about that.

We've not had that complaint before. 

Why not complain properly when you're feeling stronger.

But he wasn't behaving as he should have done! (When a complaint was made on behalf of a service user).

Staff can be rude because they're busy.

That's a bit melodramatic.

All we can do is tell staff.

All of these responses sought to minimise or dismiss what was being said.  Nothing happened afterwards and all felt like there was no point in talking further.  The volunteers try to represent service user complaints, but get varying results and it feels like more empty words sometimes.

What about now?  Will we be listened to now?

It's not all doom and gloom for our campaginers

It is easy, running a campaign like this, to get tied down by looking at the negative aspects of what is going on.  It's not hard as there are so many to choose from.  The impact on us, the impact on our families, the impact on our finances.  All of these are important and all of these worry us considerably.

Then there's the other issues surrounding the campaign like equality and discrimination and the underfunding of Mental Health.  There's the fear of stigma or recriminations for speaking out in our own names.  In a community where anxiety and paranoia is tied in to the lives of many of us, this is a real concern to many, though we're fortunate to have people who will represent us both publicly and to the Trust itself.

However it's not all doom and gloom.

We have discovered that there ARE people our there who will support us.  We are considered by some to be a small local issues, but not everyone sees it that way. To all of you we send our grateful thanks!

• Glosswitch at the New Statesman and Louise Pennington at The Huffington Post who shared our story on a national forum.  The other national publication interested and investigating the Trust.

• The women at Everyday Victim Blaming who shared our story and gave our campaign the first boost it needed.

• Mumsnet, arguably the largest parenting website in the UK who when they made us Blog of the Day saw many people contacting us with their support.

• The 415 people who have signed our petition so far.*EDIT we're on 512 as of 23/11!*

• Our 142 followers on Twitter who have given us a reach of over 10,000 people every week since we've run.

• The students of Lancaster University who have passed a motion to support our campaign and are eager to help us in any way that they can.

• Radio Lancashire and the Lancaster Guardian who made us lead stories in the local area.

• The 255 people who are following us on Facebook who are giving us a post reach of 1000's

• All of the people who have read this blog, generating more than 6000 page views in 3 weeks

We came into this campaign feeling small and weak and wondering what on earth we could do to make a change.  The response to our campaign has given many of us a sense of self belief that we didn't have before. It has shown us what we are capable of.

Its not all doom and gloom and it is not over yet.  We will keep on until we succeed.

The words of the people hurt by this closure.

We regularly check the stats for this blog.  In the two weeks its been running we've had over 4,500 hits and this is growing daily.  What stands out for us, though, is how people are drawn to the contributions from the people who are affected by this first hand. 

Have a read.  Hear our voice.  We need to be heard.  So do our children.

So I asked my children, "what was it like when I was in hospital?"

Away from family and early release - a husband speaks out.

Clare's story.  A near miss, distressed children and a fear for the future.

Debby's story on the importance of local treatment.

S's Story - Moving female patients out of town is at best ludicrous, at worst, dangerous.

Would I be less likely to get a bed if you publish my name?

Lou's story - Her concerns about being treated away from home.