Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Paul Deacon
Read between
October 27 - October 29, 2024
A mental health professional can at times be torn between compassion, anger, sorrow and empathy.
Unfortunately very true
recommend that all those who are thinking of enrolling in mental health nursing should start a portfolio of your own journey;
I officially retired from my ward manager’s post working on a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) based in Cornwall in April 2012.
Harvest!
‘slow down you get involved in so much’, sometimes too much.
staff nurse (mental health) post at St Lawrence’s Hospital in Bodmin, Cornwall.
The town had lost its importance over the decades; its barracks, prison, railway and courts had all gone. The only thing that grew was the population. The old Army Barracks, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry (DCLI) had been occupied by the American Army during the Second World War. It was also a Russian language school for British spies during the Cold War.
Interesting
Hillside Park,
So strange reading about Bodmin in a book
Bunts newsagents,
Mother worked there
Bodmin Comprehensive School.
Good old Bodmin College
First, I signed up to do a newspaper round for Bunt’s newsagents at the top of Finn VC estate working six mornings a week.
Literally what my mum did
Paul Parnell
Parents have mentioned him
Paul’s parents owned the very first local taxi service, ‘Parnell’s Taxi Service’ in Bodmin, starting off with one taxi.
They still exist
‘Because your whizzing personality blinds me!’
lol
snap in half with the strain of carrying your double Cornish Guardian bags, the weight was enough to stunt your growth.
Swear Mum said something similar
They lived next door to the Bodmin Jail.
Every year Bodmin Town will hold a concert named ‘Alstock’ in Alan’s memory.
To this day
St Lawrence’s Psychiatric Hospital
‘No not general nursing, go for psychiatry, I have been there and it’s a good career, I can see you doing this role.’
What I want to do
His son picked up the phone and I was informed that whilst away Alfie had become unwell and had died.
:(
I walked the grounds feeling proud that I was now part of this establishment.
It is a wonderful feeling
I commenced my nursing career at St Lawrence’s Hospital in Bodmin Cornwall on 17 November 1977
Kenwyn Acute Admission ward;
Fun and trust can be a powerful healer.
So true
A manager is someone who has patience, stamina, understanding, empathy, the ability to multi-task, works under pressure, motivated even when exhausted, and is conscientious about the work that they do.
Most of the ward managers now are like this... Apart from one!
06.55–20:05.
Now its 06:55-19:38 which is long enough!
One of the main focal points of the hospital was the farm, where large numbers of patients would work daily,
Wish we had this now
Kenwyn Ward had twenty beds;
Tha is MASSIIVE compared to today
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (formally called manic depression), dementia, anxiety disorder, self -harm, anorexia, depression and personality disorder.
medication, psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), art therapy, and family therapy.
Mainly use medication today
under a section of the mental health act, or as an informal admission:
So many different sections
the large dormitory.
Don't have these now
It’s easy to find yourself out of our depth and at times,
True
I was thrown into the deep end at such an early age,
Can relate to that
There was so much to take in every day, mental health act sections, ward rounds, systems, processes, routines, different professionals, doctors, wards, and new patients as they were admitted.
It's a lot to take in
the personality disorder unit for the adolescent patients at Broadmoor Hospital. This was a ward that detained dangerous forensic patients.
Find this fascinating
Diagnosed with schizophrenia, his voices were never pleasant. Before his hospital admission I had learnt that he had stopped taking all of his medication. This had brought on the voices and the hallucinations. Prior to his admission he became very paranoid, stating that the television was broadcasting messages into his head; the voices were telling him that the medication was poison, and not to take it.
Most common diagnosis we see
Observing your patient getting better, knowing that you are part of the team that is responsible for making that difference, is just unbelievably positive.
<3
So many patients that I nursed were so desperate to be heard and understood, and just needed some time spent with them.
Still true today
AWOL
Absent Without Leave
What I was to learn later on in my career is that there were times when it could be so hard, especially when there was a suicide on the ward involving a young person.
Unfortunately experienced this in my first four months of being a Mental Health HCA
No matter what observations were put in place to monitor the safety of that person, some patients would be determined to kill themselves.
Even today, humour must play a huge part in our day to day business. How else can one tolerate the insults, the verbal and physical abuse that is frequently thrown at us as nurses if we can’t laugh them off?
The emergency alarms would go off and we were required to head towards some unfolding incident not quite knowing what we would find when we got there. All of this was guaranteed to increase the flow of adrenalin.
Your heart briefly stops everytime
St Lawrence’s club
Actually went there before it was demolished
Hayle Ward with patients who were in the recovery phase.
the patients would all want the toilet and a cigarette before making their way to the beach.
Some things don't change
I am a great believer in rotation, allowing you to work on different wards, meet different patients and staff.
You learn a lot more
I spent twelve years working at St Lawrence’s Hospital,
Broadmoor Hospital’s old main gate.
Fascinating place really
Monklands Hospital in Airdrie, Scotland. This psychiatric unit was attached to a general hospital.
