Various carers reported positive experiences of getting information via telephone contact. \u00a0This was not always seen as necessary if visiting frequently, but was valued more if visits were infrequent. \u00a0For some, phone calls have been a last resort, feeling like a real struggle to chase around information, or they can struggle to get through to the right person, often taking a long time and at a cost to them.\u00a0 Visiting times could be capitalised upon for information exchange, to some extent depending on how adept they were at asking for information. \u00a0Overwrought relatives found it difficult to comprehend information:<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been so strung out sometimes that I couldn\u2019t take everything in. \u00a0(sister)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Some carers were fairly confident that information requests or asking for explanations would be met positively by staff, but did not always ask. \u00a0There were, however, variable experiences of different staff, different disciplines and these experiences could change over time:<\/p>\n
The only person who told me about my rights was a psychiatrist in the last year or so. \u00a0(sister)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It seems that for many carers, having a good consultant psychiatrist who is committed to information exchange is crucial. \u00a0Nurses and MHOs were also mentioned positively in this regard, but it seems that impressions of the whole service can be hugely influenced by contact with the psychiatrist, for good or ill.\u00a0 Some reported that in circumstances where information or explanations from staff were minimal or unsatisfactory, they often did not ask further questions or raise this as an issue, preferring to keep quiet and not cause a fuss. \u00a0Others were more assertive seekers of information, although appreciative that the exchange of information takes up staff time that may be in short supply:<\/p>\n
Even spending an hour with a patient\u2019s carer can take a big chunk out of someone\u2019s day and I understand that, so whatever time they spent with me I\u2019m quite grateful for. (mother)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Sometimes the positive experience around information pivots on a particular member of staff, and forensic carers value their input. \u00a0But this is vulnerable to being derailed by staff turnover or patient moves through the system.\u00a0 Sometimes information is difficult to decipher because of jargon and terminology:<\/p>\n
They come away with their doctor language that you have to just sit there and nod and pretend that you know exactly what they\u2019re talking about. (mother)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
On the other hand, forensic carers appreciated efforts to make information accessible:<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a need for information and a lot more information but also it has to be offered in a way that suits the person that\u2019s needing that information. (father)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
One interviewee valued a simplified approach because it demonstrated that care was being taken not to use exclusionary language.<\/p>\n
Forensic carers reported taking time to prepare for information seeking:<\/p>\n
I write down everything I have a query about, before I go tomorrow I will go through all my stuff and I\u2019ll think of anything that I want to ask about and I will write it down before the meeting and I would advise anyone to do that because you know when you\u2019re face to face with someone you forget things and I also write down things they tell me.(mother)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Information was sought via books or the internet about mental health, medication or side effects, for instance, or Scottish government information on the named persons role, or advance directives, or information about the unit:<\/p>\n
I\u2019m \u2013 inquisitive is a nice word, nosey is a better word. I quite like to know, whenever medication is mentioned I\u2019m right on to the internet, find out what it\u2019s for, where it\u2019s been tested, you know. (sister)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Internet information would often be used to facilitate discussions with staff, including checking out the accuracy of any self-directed learning<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Routes to accessing information Various carers reported positive experiences of getting information via telephone contact. \u00a0This was not always seen as necessary if visiting frequently, but was valued more if visits were infrequent. \u00a0For some, phone calls have been a last resort, feeling like a real struggle to chase around information, or they can struggle … Continue reading Accessing information<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":173,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/191"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/191\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}