Eggs acting weekend...
A bank holiday weekend and I have been working....yes, four whole days for the religious to pray and fall to their knees. Four whole days for many to get blind, stupid drunk, take drugs, fight and/or say those things the handbrake of sobriety stops rolling down that hill. Often all of these in the same household.
Oddly enough it has been 'quieter' than the usual bank holiday shenanigans. But we've had our times out with the bods in blue and the paradiddlemedics, to the delight of the neighbouring curtain twitchers who book front row seats and order the popcorn in.
Doors kicked in, domestics and threats to kill oneself/significant other/cousin/"That bloke there"....
In between we have had a variety of people who would like a few weeks in hospital for 'a rest'. It is hard enough getting those who are genuinely acutely ill into hospital, so those who are overly keen to get in are obviously viewed with deep suspicion. The questions that come to mind are:
1. Are you in trouble with the law?
2. Are you in trouble with the local dealers.
3. Impending / Are homeless?
4. Run out of money because all spent on drugs/ booze/ horses / all of these?
5. Responsibility for oneself is an alien concept for you?
6. All of the above?
Sadly for them our remit is to keep people in the community and treat them at home 24/7...so most of the above who have no genuine mental health problems are moved on.
We also work closely with our colleagues in A&E and are frequently asked to cast an eye over the people who have unfortunately lost/ missed/ mislaid their script for methodone or are struck with mysterious conditions for which large amounts of valium is their preferred solution.
It's strange how their names and addresses vary as well as their story dependant upon the interviewer and this just happened to occur over a bank holiday weekend...
It is enough to make one cynical....thank god we return to normal service tomorrow.
n.b. We do get more than enough with genuine MH problems and we happily get stuck in, sleeves rolled up and a song on our lips....and they are usually glad to remain at home in familiar and safe surroundings.
TTFN.
Oddly enough it has been 'quieter' than the usual bank holiday shenanigans. But we've had our times out with the bods in blue and the paradiddlemedics, to the delight of the neighbouring curtain twitchers who book front row seats and order the popcorn in.
Doors kicked in, domestics and threats to kill oneself/significant other/cousin/"That bloke there"....
In between we have had a variety of people who would like a few weeks in hospital for 'a rest'. It is hard enough getting those who are genuinely acutely ill into hospital, so those who are overly keen to get in are obviously viewed with deep suspicion. The questions that come to mind are:
1. Are you in trouble with the law?
2. Are you in trouble with the local dealers.
3. Impending / Are homeless?
4. Run out of money because all spent on drugs/ booze/ horses / all of these?
5. Responsibility for oneself is an alien concept for you?
6. All of the above?
Sadly for them our remit is to keep people in the community and treat them at home 24/7...so most of the above who have no genuine mental health problems are moved on.
We also work closely with our colleagues in A&E and are frequently asked to cast an eye over the people who have unfortunately lost/ missed/ mislaid their script for methodone or are struck with mysterious conditions for which large amounts of valium is their preferred solution.
It's strange how their names and addresses vary as well as their story dependant upon the interviewer and this just happened to occur over a bank holiday weekend...
It is enough to make one cynical....thank god we return to normal service tomorrow.
n.b. We do get more than enough with genuine MH problems and we happily get stuck in, sleeves rolled up and a song on our lips....and they are usually glad to remain at home in familiar and safe surroundings.
TTFN.
posted by delcatto at 8:37 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home