Access to a cpn any advice needed

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charl1234

Would like to add firstly I'm not a risk to myself as such but have longterm mental health issues that I have had treated many times via community support mental health and icbt local team, I have now got a adult social worker who has reached out to these teams and I have basically been fobbed off with she has had x x and x and we have sent her on her merry way to get on with it, yet I'm still in crisis alot, overtake medication regular to sleep stop pain and also self harm frequently cannot goout alone etc etc etc regular ptsd and depression severely anxiety,

The social worker visited and has said they wrote saying no change and to keep on usueing skills they taught me I'm sobbing to social worker saying I need a cpn never been allocated one yet every person that was in the last treatment group I was in had one???

I feel fobbed off, social worker has reached out to gp to ask for cpn refer and duty doctor rang says cannot get me cpn straight away they refer me back to cmht and then they decide I'm scared lost and in crisis at times do I unfortunately have to jump off the bridge before I get help(may add I won't be do consider it)

I'm now after today's consultation with gp awaiting see if cmht will see me I'm at a loss

Any advice welcome

rubin16

What do you want a CPN to do that CMHT and your social worker can't do? CPN's are more or less being phased out. In my area when I was younger we had CPN's but nowadays these have changed to being called care co-ordinators who are now a mix of CPN's, social workers and other mental health practioners.

Care co-ordinators just basically overlook your care in the community, but don't do anything different than what socal workers or CMHT do. while you don't have a set care co-ordinator at the moment your care under CMHT is still managed by the team as a whole and an allocated psychiatrist. The only thing really different that a care co-ordinator can manage is rather than seeing different people you see the one person, and communication can be easier especially if you have forms and things. If your area is like mine then you will find that you will be waiting for a care co-ordinator, then your allocated one for a few months and then they leave or move departments so your back on a waiting list waiting for one again.

Over my 16 years of being in the system I have had countless CPN's/Care co-ordinators I have lost count, and I don't think I've ever held a care co-ordinator for more than a year before they move on to something else. CPN's are more or less just used nowadays to give out depots to people in the community.

If your looking for more support, see of they offer an STR worker in your area. STR workers can take you to different appointments, activities in the area and can do things like teach you to cook and things. I had an STR worker last year for abit who gave me weekly cooking lessons and would take me to shops first, buy the ingredients and then go back home and cook. They do lots of things not just cooking.