icu follow up care

[Ambrosiacustard]

Hello, my name is Rob, my wife has suffered with her mental health for a long time and was admitted to ICU after taking an overdose.

My wife is recovering very slowly, is sectioned for her own safety and to hopefully give time to heal and recover, along with giving an opportunity to see if medication may be helpful. After years of being on a concoction of medications that didn’t appear to be working and also asking on several occasions for a medication review.

Can I ask about support for myself and our daughter? Is anyone aware of help, perhaps from a support group/network, or perhaps a charity?

Thank you for allowing me to join this group and share my story so far. Sending lots of love and hugs to you all.

Rob.

[Sepsur]

cc-sn.org is a charity that offers practical help & emotional support for you & your loved one whilst & after they are in ICU - it doesn’t matter why & how you or your loved one ended up in ICU.

We recognised how little support any of us were offered - this is not a criticism of our health service, just an observation. If x-patient found little support, then our families were even further out of the loop.

Family drop-in is every Tuesday at 20.00 GMT - contact us via web site if you’d like to join a session

[Rdance]

how old is your daughter? Are they still at school? If so, at primary school they probably have an ELSA. They supported my daughter during my icu admission. At secondary they may have a mental health support worker attached - our local ones do and they would be a good starting point.

[Ambrosiacustard in reply to Rdance]

Hello, thank you for your message. My daughter is 23 and is employed, although she is off work at the moment.

[Rdance in reply to Ambrosiacustard]

That info not very useful to you then! Sometimes employers occupational health teams can refer for counselling services.

[Ambrosiacustard in reply to Rdance]

Thank you, my daughter has an employee assistance program and has been referred for some counselling which is starting relatively soon.

[Icudreams]

I'm bipolar and was in icu ten days. They did absolutely nothing for my mental health and I told them I was going to jump out the window.

[Sepsur in reply to Icudreams]

Many ICUs dont have psychiatric access funded. The unit I was in had a very limited service - because they were unfunded, paying for this was restricted to an hour a week and meant some other part of the hospital lost some funding.

[allotment22-2]

when your wife is medically fit from a physical health perspective, she can be referred to a Mental Health Liaison team based in the hospital- if an NHS facility. If she is open to a mental health team already, contact them to say what has happened. The MH liaison team will make a decision as to next steps, such as discharge home with a crisis team support, admission to MH unit or home with usual care team input.

Please join the Critical Care Support Network for support for you. If in UK your daughter can ask for referral to a primary mental health team for help with her own needs. You are integral to your wife’s care, so please look after your own needs as this event will have impacted on you and will have left you with a whole bunch of thoughts and feelings. Take care and look after yourself xx

[Ambrosiacustard in reply to allotment22-2]

Thank you for your lovely message. That is pretty much what happened. My wife is under a section 3 at the moment in a MH unit. I feel that the next steps are going to be difficult and hard to predict.

What is the Critical Care Support Network?

We are in the UK, we live not far from Bath. My daughter is receiving some support through her employer support program and has started some counselling. I have self referred for counselling. xx

[allotment22-2]

Hi I have cut and pasted Sepsurs’ post for details of support for relatives of patients who have been or are still ICU patients.

cc-sn.org runs a zoom meeting every Tuesday night at 20.00 GMT for family & friends

They are a group of family members who have had a loved one in ICU - it is an invaluable resource if you are struggling with questions over treatment & recovery options OR you would love to add your support & experience - follow web site link for more details

Because I am technically challenged please look at Sepsurs post for the link!

I also wonder if there is a local support network for relatives who are carers for anyone with a mental health issues? The ward staff may be able to guide you on that?

Take time to look after yourself

[Ambrosiacustard]

Thank you, I appreciate your message.

Sepsur replied to my original message (which I think you may be aware of), I am a little frustrated as I go to a choir on a Tuesday evening from 7.30-9.00 pm, I’m not home generally until about 9.15-9.20 so I’m probably too late to hop on then?

We do have a local carer’s centre fairly locally (based in Radstock/Bath), we get sent their newsletter, I haven’t got involved as yet. I have had an initial chat with a local counselling service and they are going to get back to me with a suggested therapist.

I find doing some exercise helps me quite a lot.

[Purpleeyes]

Hi, so sorry to hear what u & ur family are going through. First point of call I suggest would be the ward/ staff, to access any support directly. Mental health charities that may b able to offer help, .MIND Rethink Sane. Depending of which part of the course try u r in, services can b few & far between. I wish I well