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Extracts from Magpie
Magazine
Care in the
Community
Care in the community is one of this previous government's latest
and probably greatest mistakes and seriously compounded by the
present goverment's cutbacks. The idea of people being able to
leave institutions is a good one but the resources within the
community do not exist to support this. In other words the cart
is being put before the horse. Many people who have suffered from
mental health problems for a significant period of time are being
placed in the community with little or no back up because
community workers are being stretched to the limit, and should
one of these workers take sick leave or even annual leave there
is often no one to take their place.
Even after a relatively short period in hospital it is
extremely difficult to adjust to being back in the community,
especially if one lives alone. For long term patients this is
even harder because they have to start from scratch with simple
things such as collecting their Social Security Benefit, paying
bills, etc. and shopping for food which they may not even know
how to cook. Many of these people have also been used to staff in
hospital administering their medication and may now forget when
to take it. This has recently led to tragedies which the media
are only too keen to focus on. Thankfully these incidents, sad as
they are, have so far been extremely rare. Many people who have
been returned to the community are leading sad, lonely solitary
lives and have to suffer the added stigma of being mentally
ill.
The majority of people in our so called "caring community"
either feel that these people should be kept in institutions or
returned to the community as long as it is not in their area.
This is a sad reflection on our so called caring society.
Hamish
Email:
[email protected]
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West Lothian
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Anything Left to Close?
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