Over the twenty years I have lived here, I have known three people who came under the care of NLMH Trust: all are dead, one a very dear friend, who desperately sought help.An appointment for the therapy she had identified for herself as necessary arrived on the day of her funeral: the Trust were unaware of her death two weeks previously. A complacent inquest brushed all concerns under the carpet, but every year the WF Guardian doggedly reports another couple of avoidable tragedies. This year a friend of a friend pleaded desperately for admission, but was refused until a suicide attempt gained the necessary result. I hear from visitors to Naseberry Court that illegal drugs are routinely brought in to patients, that theft is impossible to prevent, especially of phones, so you can't contact people who most need contacting.Patients are discharged who have nowhere to go except a park bench, and the Trust know this. I tried to deliver a letter to Naseberry listing urgent concerns about the safety of this recent patient if not admitted, and had the bizarre experience of different staff in turn refusing to sign for it, as though it might explode. No staff I met had English as their first language, and understanding of cultural nuance is vital with fragile people.
Who do I blame for this? All of us, really, for until we accept a public duty to take a turn in visiting and befriending people when in a fragile mental state - which could be any of us at any time - mental care remains a stagnant and underfunded backwater, out of sight and out of mind.
One thing life has taught me is that you cannot safely leave things to the experts: they, like most of us, will perform better knowing they are under scrutiny. What has really grated about NELMH Trust though is their PR machine, which is as smug, glossy and dishonest as Waltham Forest Council's.