Supporting and promoting the well-being of mental health carers and their families.
Mental Health Carers Austalia.
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06-09-2017 02:56 AM
06-09-2017 02:56 AM
How is the system supposed to work for a patient with mental illness?
My brother has schizophrenia. I am his secondary carer after my mum. My whole life since my teenage years has been trying to get him help. For some odd reason my mother seems unable to pick up on his symptoms. My father has untreated/undiagnosed mental issues which he will never get treated and makes things very hard to do rationally.when I was younger doctors wouldn't listen to me cos I was too young. Now I'm 34 and it seems to be that bro keeps changing doctors, they don't talk to me or mum and he relapses and doesn't go to psychologist appointments. He's never violent just paranoid and wanders around speaking to self until somehow he is convinced to start meds again. I wonder, how is the mental health system actually supposed to work to support my bro. My parents are aging and I feel I cannot handle much more of this and looking after old people. I'm alone with no support as I have been my whole life. How can we set up a mental health care plan for him... I've heard the term mentioned.. What does it entail? And can I speak to a doctor without them disclosing it? Any advise is appreciated.
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06-09-2017 03:48 AM
06-09-2017 03:48 AM
Re: How is the system supposed to work for a patient with mental illness?
Hi Jasminej, welcome to the Sane forums. It sounds as if you are feeling a bit lost and alone and need advice and support on setting up a plan for your brother. As a carer for your brother perhaps you could you talk to his doctor about setting up a plan. You can also view the below government site about information regarding mental health care plans
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/mental-health-care-plan
I am sure other forum members will also have advice for you.
Marchhare
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06-09-2017 08:57 AM
06-09-2017 08:57 AM
Re: How is the system supposed to work for a patient with mental illness?
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06-09-2017 09:08 AM
06-09-2017 09:08 AM
Re: How is the system supposed to work for a patient with mental illness?
Is your brother in the public system or does he go private?.
In the public system your brother would be allocated a case worker to help oversee his care, they help organise a treatment and relapse prevention plan. It us important that it is noted that he is amenable to you being given information as his secondary carer (might need to pick a good time to do this). Providing he does this you might ask to sit in on a session so that his treatment plan can be explained to you. Sadly case workers can be pressed for time and you might need to be assertive as to what is expected, you need to stress that your parents are aging and are losing the capacity to care for him. You should also be able to see his pdoc either separately or together at the end of one of his appts.
It also pays to understand his medication. The purpose of antipsychotics is to reduce symptoms to enable the patient to function better. Side effects and risk factors need to be monitored, things like checking for diabetes and heart if they are likely affected by his specific meds. Sometimes this is done by the GP, this needs to be in his treatment plan.
Familiarising yourself with your state's mental health act is also a good idea.
In the private system I believe a patient does not have a case worker. I believe due to socioeconomic factors, Sz patients often end up in the public system. I found with my husband that I needed to do a concise history on his symptoms and drugs - reactions.
I will tag you in a couple of posts that might be of help to you.
Darcy
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06-09-2017 05:32 PM
06-09-2017 05:32 PM
Re: How is the system supposed to work for a patient with mental illness?
Hi @Jasminej. I'm an "older person" with a son who has schizophrenia. He lives with me and I monitor meds and take him to appointments. On his own, he just forgets (and he can't manage bills, payments, locking doors, putting milk away and a whole host of other minor practical things).
We have a mental health care plan with the GP. The plan just seems to be "administrative" so we can access Medicare payments for 6 or 10 psychologist appointments. I personally haven't seen any other benefits.
"The system" has supported us very well in times of crisis but the day-to-day responsibilities seem to fall to the carers and I don't know what happens if there are no carers. If my son misses an appointment, he will get a call which he may just ignore. I usually give my number when he's making appointments.
You can provide information to the doctor or psychiatrist, for example write an email or a letter. They may not respond because of confidentiality. In our case, I know that the psychs don't always get the full story so I've sometimes had to send information. They do disclose that I've sent information and my son is usually unhappy about that.
Long-term I've been thinking he'll need supported accommodation. Searching around, I haven't noted anything that looks suitable.
Thanks for asking the questions, I'm also hoping to find some answers.
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11-09-2017 12:20 AM
11-09-2017 12:20 AM
Re: How is the system supposed to work for a patient with mental illness?
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11-09-2017 08:34 PM
11-09-2017 08:34 PM
Re: How is the system supposed to work for a patient with mental illness?
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11-09-2017 09:09 PM
11-09-2017 09:09 PM
Re: How is the system supposed to work for a patient with mental illness?
The public system can work well but it is overstretched and as @patientpatient says the carers do a lot of the work ensuring appointments are kept and that regular monitoring of med risk factors happens.
As a carer it is important for you to understand a bit about the medications given. Please do not be afraid to ask questions. The RANZCP have guidelines on the treatment of schizophrenia and these are readily available on the internet as are the national standards for mental health services which includes carers (standard 7) - important though your brother gets you listed as a carer
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publ...
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11-09-2017 09:20 PM
11-09-2017 09:20 PM
Re: How is the system supposed to work for a patient with mental illness?
Just to clarify. In our case, my son was on an Early Psychosis Treatment program in the public system. It was limited to age 25 and under, and also limited to two years duration. After two years (and a few months) we were pushed out into the private system.
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11-09-2017 09:49 PM
11-09-2017 09:49 PM
Re: How is the system supposed to work for a patient with mental illness?
My husband goes to a public adult community mental health service.