- Hey everybody.
Happy Thursday.
Now today I have a wonderful and special guest.
A fellow Kenyan, Megs, is here to talk about
the NHS system in the UK,
and how you go about getting mental health help,
and disability, and all of that stuff,
and I just want to thank each and every one of you
for your support in the community.
Every time you comment on a comment,
or help a fellow Kenyan,
know that I see it,
and I truly, truly, appreciate it.
And I want to thank Megs for putting herself out there
for filming.
I know it makes all of you very nervous
when I ask you to do things like this,
but thank you for sharing all of your insights.
This is so helpful for each and every one of us to know
when we go about getting help in a different system, right?
I live in the States, and I only know our system.
So it's great to understand what the NHS system is,
and how it works.
(hip hop music)
- Hi, it's Megs.
I'm just filming this video on UK disabilities,
NHS, all those kind of things.
People who might not know how to get help,
both, for treatment and financially.
So Kati's given me a few questions to kind of go through.
I'm going to give you a little background on me,
and then like the things that I just mentioned.
- And the first question that I have for you, Megs,
is how did you know that you needed more help,
and how did you go about getting that help?
I know that there are lots of different stages,
like getting a therapist, and how many session you get.
But in the NHS, don't you need
to be referred first from your GP?
Let us know.
- Simply, without getting too personal,
originally I went to the GP not long
after starting a new job,
and I felt like my mood was kind of slipping,
and that's been a pattern for me.
Whenever there's been some like big change or whatever,
and I think that's quite common experience.
A few months went by, I got a low dose of an SSRI,
and continued to be able to work,
and some help through access to work.
Which I don't know if you know anything about that,
but it's something we have in the UK
that helps people retain work.
So if there's things that they can modify,
I was given funding for an assistant
who works for a local support charity,
and they were able to come in,
and kind of be on the job support in the morning
when things are really stressful.
So after some time of not feeling better,
which is about four months,
after going to the GP first I guess.
My GP suggested she referred me
for the first line of NHS therapy,
which, in my area, and I'm pretty sure in most areas,
is Depression Anxiety Service,
which most NHS trusts have,
and offer like six to 12 week programs
for weekly appointments.
Sometimes every other week, it depends on your schedules.
It's works really great when things are just starting
to get a bit like you're not managing,
but you're not off with the fairies,
I like to describe it for me.
Where your daily life's still manageable,
and this is there to kind of stop it
from getting worse, but for me, I'd already got worse,
and it wasn't really appropriate.
Wait time for that in most areas though is really short,
so like, two to four weeks,
which, if you're in work,
you get couple a weeks off work, to like,
so you're not worrying about going to this appointment,
or whatever, or that's how long it takes for like
a new SSRI to sort of kick in.
So it's like a good wait time.
On the day of the appointment,
I attempted suicide on the way there.
I disclosed this to the therapist,
and she called the local crisis team.
They're kind of the next thing.
The crisis team, work either out of A&E
or the local mental health unit.
They usually see you within a few hours.
It's kind of like the trauma treatment.
Not trauma as in whoa, trauma,
but say you went to A&E, and you had a broken leg,
and it's like the first line trauma treatment.
So the next day,
(clears throat)
they came and saw me, and then they stayed in close contact
for several days until my case was passed along
to the local mental health team.
Now this, this is the good bit, right?
Once you get referred to them,
you start actually getting help.
You don't get brushed aside.
You don't get told that what
is going on isn't a big deal.
This can also come as a referral from a GP.
You don't have to have a massive A&E suicide crisis thing.
It's normally a GP referral to a psychiatrist for diagnosis,
and then you go into their mental health system.
Right, so, a month after that,
so we're now, like, six months in,
I was given an appointment to be accessed
by the mental health team.
It's a reasonably lengthy induction.
Rather than one meeting, I had like,
honestly I couldn't tell you how many,
because I was pretty away with everything at the time.
So maybe like six, eight to 12 weeks.
Kind of weekly appointments.
So the kind of conclusion to that particular part,
once they'd accessed me I was passed on
to the full time care team for mental health unit.
So, I was allocated a Care Coordinator,
they're also known as a CPN,
which is, clinical something,
clinical psychological nurse.
I think, something like that.
He's fantastic, he actually is really, really helpful.
I know not everybody has a great experience with them,
but mine is lovely,
and he really, really cares about his patients.
- Thank you so much for sharing all of that information
and details.
It's really helpful to know your story,
and how it worked for you,
but I'm just curious, how long did you have to wait
to get that help?
Was there tons of paperwork you had to fill out?
And did anyone help you in the process?
- We're about 18 months in, that's bad,
I was given further assessment for psycho therapy.
Thank God, right?
Actually my CPN apologized this didn't get done earlier,
but waiting list, waiting list, waiting list,
waiting list, waiting list.
The story of the NHS.
So of the outcome of the assessment was,
I was placed on a waiting list.
Another one, and told six to eight months.
So, in total, from going to GP appointment to theoretical,
actually hasn't happened yet therapy, two years.
Yeah, there wasn't paperwork.
I presume there was paperwork, but the Care Coordinator
dealt with that so, no paperwork for me,
other than signing, "Yes I'm happy for this",
and, "Yes you can share this information with,
this assessment information with this person and my GP".
- Now after all of this work, and waiting,
and going through different levels of treatment.
Do you really feel like you get the help that you need now?
Or are there ways that it could be improved,
or things that you wish they offered?
- Considering it's been such a long time,
no, not really, but they're trying,
and I am getting all the things that I'm able to get.
So, when they sort it out that I will be starting therapy,
I was moved from an NHS support worker,
who generally doesn't work with people long, long term,
like I said she worked with me for about eight months,
and moved to Mind support work,
because Mind is a UK charity, mental health charity,
and part of what they do is provide support hours
for people with mental health problems.
You can go directly to them.
Funding comes through either the NHS,
or your local council social care.
And those are things that you don't have
to deal with that paperwork.
For me, my CPN Care Coordinator dealt with that paperwork,
and procuring that funding,
but Mind will work with you to do that as well.
- And I'm curious, does your disability,
or whatever term they use in the UK,
does it cover your living expenses,
and costs of your life?
Or can you work as well?
Or is it just like the states,
like there's a limit to how much you can actually work?
- At the moment, I personally don't work,
I might sound really put together, and look nice today.
I've got to go out with my family I'm not feeling it,
but I've put the mask on.
It's gonna be okay.
Christmas was not great.
(deep breaths)
Right, so, there's two main benefits in this country
to help with people who are disabled.
So, yes.
A lot of them, you read the questions, you think,
"Oh, dear God this is just for people
who have physical disabilities".
It's not, and your mental health is as important,
and as physical as anything else.
Please, don't think that you don't deserve
to be taken care of, and take care of yourself,
cause you do, okay?
So, took way loads of time for me to get my head
around accepting that I needed this,
because all I wanted to do was use my education, which,
took a while, really worked hard at, had a great job,
fell to pieces,
it's okay to need help.
Right?
Okay, so, two main ones.
So, there's Employment Support Allowance, ESA,
and Personal Independence Payments, PIP.
PIP you can get regardless of whether you're working,
or not working.
It's a benefit to pay for the daily living necessities
that are more difficult for you,
because you have problems, right?
For me, I find my self care really, really difficult.
So, those are the things that I discussed
when I went for my PIP interview.
ESA is an out-of-work benefit for people who
aren't able to work because of their disability.
ESA has two different levels of payment.
One, the higher level, I can't remember what it's called.
Support group, support group I think.
That's the one that I'm in.
It's for people that they deem unable to work.
So that incurs a slightly higher level of payment.
Then, the one underneath is,
something to do with employment it says,
but basically what it is, is you're given assistance
towards finding work that you're capable of doing.
It's not fair, it all kind of adds in together,
and if you get over this certain points threshold
you get everything, and if you don't you get nothing,
and it's really, really difficult,
and really, really unfair,
but it's how system works, and you have to work the system.
But also, I have something called
an Essential Visitors Permit, which is,
because my house doesn't have free parking.
It has pay parking, and local residence parking.
I applied to council, this came super, super quick.
It's just a little visitors permit,
cause I don't have my own car.
A visitors permit, so when people come to visit me,
they can park on the street parking without having
to park miles and miles away, and walk to see me.
So, enables me to have visitors.
So look up Essential Visitors Permit
with your local council.
And then I did say that I would talk to people about
social housing if they wanted to,
but I'll mention a little bit about it.
I'm currently living in social housing,
because I was living with family.
My mental health made it impossible
for me to continue to live with them,
and I wasn't working.
So I wasn't in a position where I could
save for a deposit, or afford rent payments, which,
you can get rent assistance anyway,
but I wasn't able to get a tenancy.
So I was referred by my CPN to a housing officer
who works with the mental health team,
but you can go direct to the council,
and talk to them, and make sure you take someone with you.
But normally, having mental health problems,
and living in an unsuitable living situation
like with people who can't support you,
or it's making your situation worse
maybe you live with someone who was part of the trauma
that has caused your mental health.
They'll bound you to allow you to move.
- And lastly, I guess, what advice would you give to someone
who thinks that maybe they need more help?
- Right, if you're thinking about it, go get it.
These things take time in the UK.
It's better to start now than wait til things get worse.
And then it can take so, so, so, so much longer.
If you're thinking about getting help, you do need help.
Don't feel like you're a burden.
Don't feel like you don't deserve it.
Don't feel like you're bothering people.
Don't be British basically.
Just go, "I need help.
"If I get help now, it's not gonna be
"a big deal for as long".
I really wish, wish, wish, wish, wish, that I had
that first time I went to my GP, that I just said,
"Look, I know this is gonna get worse."
Because this has happened to me before.
I had this breakdown.
Another one 10 years ago that lasted a good couple of years.
I knew what was coming, but I didn't push.
Push while you still have the strength to push,
and find people who help you push
while you still have the strength to push.
You already feel like you don't have strength to push.
Just get help.
Get what you can, as soon as you can,
and keep trying, because there is hope
even if some days it doesn't feel like there is.
Like yesterday, super shitty, today,
trying to feel like there's hope.
And you can too.
So I guess that's it.
I hope I've covered everything.
If you have anymore questions for me,
Kati please let me know, and anybody else,
like I said, I'll answer your questions.
Hope everybody's 2017 is great.
- Thank you Megs for taking the time to film this,
and to share your story, and for going into detail about
what it looked like for you.
It's so beneficial, and educational for me
to better understand what it looks like over there
in the NHS system,
and if you're in the States, and you're curious about
our system of care and how it works, click over here.
I did a video with Jayden a while back,
where he shares how his process was,
and what worked for him getting disability
here in the States, and if you have different experiences
please share in the comments,
because together we learn more,
and work together towards a healthy mind and a healthy body.
And I'll see you all next time.
Bye!
(Motown music)