I tried to leave this as a comment, but you have that utterly horrible blogger captcha, and I tried to do it, but it stinks to high heaven.
Here’s my response to her post:
How?
The mentally ill don’t vote. (Insert your funny joke about the party you don’t vote for here).
Their families are a mixture of positions, and I understand, in theory. Psychotropic meds (Thorazine, Haloperidol, etc) were going to revolutionize mental health care (1965 and later); screaming psychotics then became somewhat medicated psychotics. Not droolingly crazy = unfair holding against their will! !Close the horrible institutions! They just hold people who’ll be fine’ (if they take their meds; when they leave very close supervision in a structured environment, they usually don’t). Then they’re on the street, literally.
One of Americas’ few real shames is the number of homeless who need to be institutionalized due to mental illness, but aren’t. Land of the Free, home of the brave, but no home for the decompensated schizophrenic.
Mental health is a life-long problem, and the patient pool we’re talking about here aren’t unhappy about their latest relationship, they’re literally coo-coo for cocoa-puffs, except that makes them sound more cartoonishly pleasant than they really are. They’re miserable, through no fault of their own, and there’s nowhere to go.
There’s plenty of blame to go around here, on both political parties and over a couple of generations. Money is the root of evil here; long term mental health care is horribly expensive just because it’s lifelong. Many states are closing their long-term MH Hospitals due to cost. It’s hard to get re-elected on the tax bill for the mentally ill; inexplicably, toll roads get people re-elected. Go figure.
I want legislation that puts a homeless schizophrenic on the corner next to every legislators’ home (there’s plenty to go around), and then maybe, just maybe, something will happen. Until the mental health advocates and the courts get involved, then they’re all back on the street and in the ED.
GruntDoc
Blogger site bloggers: the blogger captchas are bad, they’re stifling, and you need to get rid of them.
The biggest problem on ER’s is that they tend to forget that psychiatric patients are patients as much as the sick and dying patients. They also need care and treatment
Say what?
We “forget” that they need treatment? No… we’re saying that ERs are ill-equipped to provide it. We want a place to send these folks where they can get treatment. Mental illness is a life-long affliction for many, and speaking only for myself, I lack the credentials and expertise to properly treat a refractory schizophrenic.
I can sedate them as well as anyone… but there’s a reason why psychiatry is a specialty all its own.
Doc:
Capchas are annoying, ’tis true. However, what option is there to avoid blog spam?
Thank you.
In response to Dan’s question: Get off Blogger, and get a Word Press blog!
@TheNewGuy
Than don’t write:
They are disruptive and upsetting to the sick and dying patients who are also in the ER. Staff have been hurt, several have quit in disgust. While the psychiatric patients are being held that is a room that can’t be used to treat the ever growing backlog of ER patients.
Don’t get it down on them, this isn’t the right argument.
Regards Dr Shock
Your askimet or whatever caught my last comment—-thus, your blog sucks and all wordpress blogs have recently sucked for me. We’ll see if this one goes through….
? what is a blogger captcha and how do I get rid of it? you can email me privately at ERnurseyatgmaildotcom
I’m in psych right now, and the patients vote via absentee ballot.
Thanks Dr Grunt, you have hit the nail right on the head here. I think a pretty good litmus test of how well a society is operating is reflected in the way it cares for the elderly and mentally ill.
we all have a loooong way to go.
I totally agree with you! (Grunt Doc)
If the mentally ill don’t vote, then how DO you explain George Bush being in office?