Our last full day in Birmingham was a great day. We rode the bus to the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust and had an amazing chat with a few of their nurses and educators on the site. In that session we learned about how their mental health program runs and how service users can be seen. Heading into this session I was very curious to see if they service has a long wait time as well as the rest of their healthcare services. Back in the states, even though individuals can have private insurance, there are still quite a long waiting list for any psychiatric services. Within the program by the NHS there is still a long wait-list to get into any sort of mental health facility. A big difference that can be seen from here and the states is that there is a lot more attention on mental health whereas back home everyone pretends like it doesn’t exist and ostracizes you when it is brought up. Unfortunately it is still the same about being quick to push drugs to individuals who are experiencing symptoms of mental health issues. I think that there are a bountiful number of holistic ways to work through those thoughts and feelings before jumping to prescribing pills. Of course, every case is different but it should be at least the main treatment method. I have a pal living in Austria who was struggling and his doctor wrote him a prescription to go for a walk, preferably outdoors, for at least thirty minutes a day and to drink a warm cup of tea before going to bed. Now this sort of thing won’t necessarily be the best route for someone who is struggling with personality disorders but for anxiety and depression this can be useful. The individuals who we spoke to felt that taking a holistic approach to treatment can really make a difference on the over-prescribing issue that is taking place.

After our introduction to how things are ran, they discussed the four different specialties that they have at this specific location. On site, there are deaf specialists who work with the deaf community around the Birmingham and Solihull area. We learned that up until the 1970s BSL was banned across the country. Afterwards they made training facilities to ensure that overall there was a similar language being used throughout. Another specialist that they offer is for eating disorders. These individuals work on treatment by assessing their physical and mental health, and making sure that the service users are eating a balanced diet within their hospital. They also have a forensic specialist who works with service users who struggle with mental health and have committed a criminal offense. This specialist also provides services to those who show seriously aggressive or threatened violence. They provide secure care through highly secure inpatient units. Lastly, they also have psychiatry liaison specialists who work on emergency response. These staff members assess tho who come into the institute and see which type of service is best suited for them. The psychiatric liaison also performs risk management to ensure the safety of not only the service users, but also of the staff of the facility as well. Safeguarding is a very important practice within this mental health trust location.

I wish that we could’ve seen this session before we presented because they offered a lot of really valuable information that we could’ve used for our slides. In the end I am still thankful that we were able to go into the hospital and learn all about the different types of mental health programs that are offered. I truly think it is amazing.