borderline personality disorder

I find that it is harder than ever to get support. General ongoing support which keeps me stable is unavailable and crisis support is patchy. My key worker tells me I should call him in emergencies but he is either not there or makes it obvious there is nothing he can do. I admit I find him worse than useless as he offers hope and cannot deliver. He blames me for not being well while acknowledging I am ill. This makes me feel bad about myself.

Unable to even contact mental health services!

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have been in the care of the mental health services since I was a child and am now 62 years old.

I have managed to live some kind of productive life with significant help which previously has always been forthcoming.

I moved to Cornwall almost 2 years ago and now I cannot get the local mental health services to even communicate with me. I have been told that I am under the local team but my nurse has been off sick for 9 months and is now on a months annual leave. I am told I can phone duty but whenever I do they are unavailable.

I record all calls now because if I cry I am accused of being aggressive which I have never been in my life.

I cannot get any information as to when my nurse will return. It has been “next week” for a month now but ….nothing!

I am at my wits end and do not know where to turn. We have called 111 several times and an ambulance has been necessitated 3 times which does not seem to be a sensible use of NHS money. I have self harmed and required stitches and taken 2 overdoses but still I cannot engage in any meaningful conversation with the CMHT.

I do not know what to do and now wish to make my complaint official. Can you please tell me where I go from here? I wish to make the complaint as official as possible so can you please supply my very anxious husband and I who we contact to do that please as the CMHT will not supply us with that information.

Thank you for your time and attention in this matter.

This is the letter I sent to the head of Cornwall Mental Health Services and this was my reply:-

Supporter	Fri, Sep 2, 6:30 PM (4 days ago)
to me

Hi Carol,

Thanks for sharing with us. I’m really sorry to hear you’re struggling right now. Here at the Mental health foundation we don’t actually offer individual or clinical care, I wanted to re-direct you to some resources from our website you may find helpful: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/your-mental-health/looking-after-your-mental-health. I recognize these aren’t a replacement for nursing or practitioner but unfortunately, I have no expertise in this area and can’t advise on how best to engage with your local services.

If you ever feel like need more immediate assistance, please take a look at this webpage which provides contact details for organisations like Mind and Samaritans

Hannah Weir​​Supporter Services ExecutivePhone: 0207 803 1109Website www.mentalhealth.org.uk

Sometimes I know that I can manage my life with just a little support and give something back to society but I feel paralysed by the current lack of any support available. Those in charge, you are losing a large group of people who want to contribute but have been left behind in some ill advised desire to save money!

Any idea where I go from here?