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Is it wise to leave community health

TopDeckSenior Contributor21 June 2023, 12:14 am AEST

Is it wise to leave community health

I have a terrible relationship with my new case manager. The team leader will not change him. She said they prioritise involuntary clients and people on CTO's.

I have been diagnosed with many things. Schizophrenia, bipolar, polysubstance abuse, drug induced psychosis, schizoaffective disorder, seasonal affective disorder, I have been going through different psychiatrist after different psychiatrist and they all have different opinions.

I am on DSP and NDIS. I was in a care home for 2 years. I'm now in community housing.

I need to stay on DSP and NDIS but at the same time community health provides services and things NDIS doesn't. They're relying on me using NDIS because in my case manager's words "NDIS is picking up the slack"

The team leader has told me to go private if I don't agree with what she's doing. I can't afford private.

I don't want anything touchy feely, I don't want to be told "oh that sounds so hard", I just want hard answers. Is it wise to leave community health? If anyone is going to say that's something I should discuss with them or refer me to someone else who will refer me to someone else, please delete this thread. Thank you.

24 replies

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In response to: Is it wise to leave community health

outlanderSenior Contributor21 June 2023, 12:25 am AEST

Re: Is it wise to leave community health

hi @TopDeck

i work in the NDIS industry as support working and i know that you are able to request a new support co-ordinator. your support coordinator should be helping you with accessing support services, and managing your funding. you can access a fair bit through NDIS under different categories ie social supports ie support workers, allied services such as physio, assisted technology like tablets if you require that, transport.

Your are able to access the community public system whether your on ndis or not so try not to let people talk you out of services that you have a right to access to.

with your case manager if your unable to change to some one else within the service provider you use, you are able to request a new company. if your not feeling strong enough to stand up for yourself then i would recommend an advocacy service. they can sit with you and find out what your goals are, your needs and requests and help you by speaking on your behalf or assist you to speak to service providers to ensure your getting what you want.

if your finding the community health services beneficial then i dont see why you need to change that if ndis isnt providing that to you.

In response to: Re: Is it wise to leave community health

TopDeckSenior Contributor21 June 2023, 1:03 am AEST

Re: Is it wise to leave community health

This isn't anything to do with NDIS, this is to do with department of mental health. This is my mental health case manager. I am talking about my mental health case manager from community mental health.

I am not able to change providers because it is based on the area you are in. I want to go to a different community mental health service but I cannot, they're locking me in to the one I'm in because it's in the LGA.

In response to: Re: Is it wise to leave community health

outlanderSenior Contributor21 June 2023, 1:12 am AEST

Re: Is it wise to leave community health

@TopDeck
sorry for misunderstanding
Your case manager should have someone above them, including above the team leader to hear your concerns about how your feeling and your treatment from the case manager.

i guess what you need to have a think about whether you are able to change case managers or not is to ask yourself 'is the community mental health service helpful to me'? do you find it useful, do you think if you left you can cope without it?

if you answer yes i can cope with out it and rely on my ndis services then that is something to consider. its honestly a personal choice. for me i left the community mental health, i did not like the treatment i received throughout my time there and to be anxious every time i utilised their services was more detrimental then staying.

you are also still able to access advocacy services as well to help get your point across to the current case manager and team leader as well as help you to put complaints in. this could be something for you to look into. it sucks when they lock you into a service because of the LGA your in but it doesnt dismiss the treatment.

In response to: Re: Is it wise to leave community health

TopDeckSenior Contributor21 June 2023, 1:20 am AEST

Re: Is it wise to leave community health

No you're okay, I apologize if I seemed a bit abrupt. Just this treatment has been extremely frustrating and has exacerbated my symptoms.

I feel trapped there because I require mental health treatment for DSP reasons, and leaving community health and not having access to a psychiatrist could ultimately be my downfall. It could also mean that NDIS reduces my funding because if I'm not receiving medical treatment then that could affect my NDIS as well as DSP. If it ever comes to the point where I'm reviewed I could be screwed. Is there any way I can receive some help from somewhere else? I can't go private and it's very hard to find a doctor in the Western Sydney area because they're all booked out, not taking new patients or they don't bulk bill, it's incredibly frustrating.

In response to: Re: Is it wise to leave community health

outlanderSenior Contributor21 June 2023, 1:36 am AEST

Re: Is it wise to leave community health

thats quite ok, i can understand the frustration you might be feeling. @TopDeck

do you know if your NDIS funding would cover a psychiatrist gap fee? im wondering if you could try seeing a gp outside your local LGA as they cant really stop you from seeing someone from another LGA esp if they are borderline towns and get a referral to a psychiatrist who bulk bills or has a smaller gap fee (that possibly your ndis can help cover if your unable to). sometimes psychiatrists can offer reduced fees for those on a pension as well.

Are you in a position to research and contact some psychiatrists and find out what their fees are and if bulk billing is an option with a referral from a gp?

In response to: Re: Is it wise to leave community health

outlanderSenior Contributor21 June 2023, 1:41 am AEST

Re: Is it wise to leave community health

i done a quick search to see if i could find some supports within western sydney.

these has popped up that services western sydney and has bulk billing psychiatrists and mental health services

https://www.mmhg.com.au/

https://www.wellbe.net.au/

perhaps try having a look into those. they are bulk billing 'private' services so they arent connected to the mental health teams but still offer free or low cost mental health care @TopDeck

In response to: Re: Is it wise to leave community health

TopDeckSenior Contributor21 June 2023, 1:50 am AEST

Re: Is it wise to leave community health

NDIS won't cover the cost of a psychiatrist gap fee because they will say that it's more value for money if I were to have it in community health. They won't fund it.

The doctor will most likely refer me to community health because that's where the bulk billing psychiatrists are.

To have a reduced psychiatrist fee for pensions, they will just say that I can get it from community health. Many of these options will lead back to community health.

Finding a good doctor is incredibly hard and from 10 years of experience, they will take the easier way out and refer me to community health. They will say the same things I've heard before "you're better off asking community health", who will most likely knock back my application after I leave. Every time I talk to someone, they tell me to go somewhere else.

In response to: Re: Is it wise to leave community health

outlanderSenior Contributor21 June 2023, 1:54 am AEST

Re: Is it wise to leave community health

that is very frustrating @TopDeck
for me i dont think community mental health should be the answer to everything if other services can provide whats required without needing to be with the community team.
i would still possibly give it ago and explain the community team is not providing the services you need and want to try somewhere else. i wouldnt leave the mental health team till you found elsewhere though. it sounds like something you can fall back on for now even if its not the right service for you

im wondering if @Jynx @JoeTheLion @tyme @RiverSeal might be able to help out in this case with some suggestions

In response to: Re: Is it wise to leave community health

TopDeckSenior Contributor21 June 2023, 2:04 am AEST

Re: Is it wise to leave community health

They don't seem to mention schizophrenia or bipolar on their websites. I think they're more for depression and anxiety. Will ask them anyway though, can't hurt to ask.

In response to: Re: Is it wise to leave community health

outlanderSenior Contributor21 June 2023, 2:06 am AEST

Re: Is it wise to leave community health

hopefully they can be some help @TopDeck
im sorry i cant offer any other services as I'm not familiar with Sydney's services unfortunately but hopefully some other members can or our sane crew can. they're quite useful for support service suggestions

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