Carers Forum

[Mon0497]

Hi all, 

I am new to this forum.

My daughter is currently under an assessment/treatment order in a public hospital.

She has been in a private facility for six weeks and as she continued to deterioate they where telling her to "snap out of it" and "you can control the voices"

They ceased medications, started new ones and commenced TMS all within four days, in her last week there. No wonder my beautiful girl ended up under a treatment order. 

I am feeling very frustrated about that experience and may take it further.

What I would like to access however is her reports such as her MRI, EEG etc. I know I would need an FOI for the pyschiatrist's  notes but am just wondering if I can access simple things like bloods and radiology without one. Thanks in advance.

[Amour_Et_Psyché]

Hi @Mon0497,

First of all, welcome to the SANE Forums!  I apologize that it has taken a little while for you to receive a response.

I am so sorry to hear about what your daughter experienced in the private hospital. It is completely understandable that you are feeling frustrated and are thinking about taking matters further. It sounds like changes to your daughter's treatment approach happened so quickly, which left you feeling uninformed and powerless in her recovery - this leading to your daughter's condition worsening. Again, I am so sorry that your family had to go through this experience.

In terms of gaining access to her blood and radiology results, I wanted to know how old your daughter is? If your daughter is over 18 years-of-age, this complicates the matter of gaining access to her results in terms of privacy and confidentiality - I get the sense she is 18 years or older? However, if your daughter is under 18 years-of-age, or you have Power of Attorney or a relevant Guardianship Order, then you may be able to access such reports more easily.

For more information about what your rights are, given your unique situation, it may be worth contacting:

Mental Health Legal Centre
1800 555 887 
Tuesday 6.30pm to 8.30pm and Thursday 6.30pm to 8.30pm, EST

www.communitylaw.org.au/mhlc/cb_pages/the_legal_centre.php 

The Mental Health Tribunal (the Tribunal)
1800 242 703 
mht@mht.vic.gov.au
https://www.mht.vic.gov.au/

I hope these resources are somewhat helpful for you! If you need any support, or feel it would be helpful to share your experiences as a carer to your daughter with the forum community, please feel more than free!

Kindest,

Amour_Et_Psyché

[Mon0497]

Thank you 

Amour_Et_Psyché

 My daughter is over 18, I will contact the groups you have suggested.

I am still distressed about her experience but the good news is she is now recovering quickly due to the correct medication.

After nearly two months of hospitilastion she will be home next week.

I am now worried about how to find a psychiatrist to see her as the very professional clever team she has as an inpatient at the moment cannot see her as an outpatient.

She has been diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder, I can't seem to find an Australian group/foundation specifically for this diagnosis.

I know you can't reccomend individual doctors but any guidance would be wonderful.

Thank you for your reply

[Darcy]

Hello @Mon0497

Schizoaffective disorder is where a patient shows symptoms of both bipolar and schizophrenia. 

The symptoms of these can be readily found on the internet.  There are support groups for "hearing voices" as well as both bipolar and schizophrenia. There are support services such as Wellways that provide family education too. The hospital will probably have a number of information leaflets about these.