The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), which is responsible for our county’s mental health care, has come under fire in recent years.
Arden Thomas-Harris, 22, reached out to the Ipswich Star to share their own experiences of NSFT, which their mother Katie Harris described as a “constant battle”.
Arden Thomas-Harris said that they reached ‘breaking point’ with their mental health. (Image: Arden Thomas-Harris)
The Trust has said it is “sorry that Arden has not received the care they and their family expected”.
Arden, who uses they/them pronouns, suffers from anxiety, depression, OCD and borderline personality disorder (BPD). They first began receiving care from NSFT aged 15.
Katie said they would often arrive at appointments and find that the computer system had inputted the wrong and nobody was available to see Arden.
Arden’s mental health “nose-dived” in 2022 and they made attempts on their own life.
“It was the breaking point of not having help,” said Arden.
At points, they were unable to speak due to situational mutism, an anxiety-based disorder.
Because of this, Arden and Katie said their consultant was unwilling to see them, despite Arden being able to communicate by writing things down. The consultant did eventually see Arden, who felt “blamed” for not being able to speak.
At their lowest point, Arden was hospitalised. Despite Katie pushing for a bed on a psychiatric ward, she was met with pushback from NSFT, who maintained there were no beds available, or else that this was not the right course of action for Arden.
Arden was admitted to a general ward in Ipswich Hospital, but the consultant there agreed that Arden needed to be on a psychiatric ward.
Arden’s mental health consultant arrived, and “tried to get the other consultant to change her mind” and keep Arden as her patient, Katie recalled. This happened “over the bed” where Arden was laying.
More recently, Arden – like paramedic Rebecca McLellan – was left without a care coordinator overseeing their case for as long as six months. They are also meant to have fortnightly appointments, but until last Wednesday had been left without a consultation for seven weeks with no explanation.
“There’s just no change,” said Katie. “They don’t learn from the lessons.”
Cath Byford, Chief Patient Experience Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said: “A complaint was made to our Trust in 2022. This was fully investigated and a detailed response was provided, including resolutions to the issues raised.
“We would actively encourage Arden and their family to contact our Complaints and Patient Advice and Liaison Service to discuss their concerns. This will enable us to discuss how we can make any improvement that is needed.”