Published:
8:00 a.m. February 13, 2022
Updated:
8:50 a.m. February 13, 2022
A Suffolk man says he may have to wait six to 12 months to receive support for a personality disorder and calls for more to be done to end “ridiculous” waiting.
The man, who lives near Ipswich, spoke of his experience accessing support to address his borderline personality disorder.
The 42-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous, said he also suffers from anxiety, depression, parental alienation and despair. but he has been told to wait six to 12 months.
“Treatment is not happening fast enough,” he said. “It’s really frustrating with mental health.
“Mental health cannot and should not involve a waiting list.”
He visited the Woodlands mental health unit on October 27 and spent two hours being assessed by the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.
The trust had 57,520 referrals in 2019/2020, 33,720 entered treatment and 13,810 completed treatment.
NSFT told him to refer himself to the Mind for a Waves charity course, which supports people with a diagnosis or traits of borderline personality disorder.
She was then sent a letter that it would be a six to 12 month wait for help.
Mind also told the 42-year-old they would follow up again in three months, but has not received a response.
He said: “A wait of six to 12 months for people is ridiculous.
“Would they say that in the hospital if you had a heart attack?
“People would think it’s crazy to wait six months. Mental health is the same.”
A Suffolk Mind spokeswoman said wait times to access its Waves service vary depending on a potential customer’s location.
The spokeswoman said: “The service is a one-year program and all groups have a size limit to ensure they are safe, effective and helpful to participants.
“Recently, as with all mental health services, there has been a substantial increase in referrals, especially in Ipswich, and clients can wait over a year before being able to join.”
A spokesman for the NHS Ipswich and East Suffolk and NHS West Suffolk clinical start-up groups said it would continue to have an active strategy to support people in the community and work with partners to address the challenges created by the pandemic.
Suffolk Night Owls, available between 7 pm and 1 am, is a crisis-avoidance support service for those on the Waves waiting list.
The The Helpline of the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is at 0800 58 58 58 and is open from 5pm to midnight and by texting the word ‘SHOUT’ to 85258, you will start a conversation with a mental health charity volunteer at Shout.
If you are having difficulty and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free 24/7 helpline on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email [email protected] or visit their site to find your local samaritans.org chapter.
