The facilities available for visiting were important and affected carers\u2019 perceptions of forensic mental health care.\u00a0 Having a relaxing atmosphere, some flexibility in visiting times, and good staff support were vital components of a \u2018good experience\u2019. \u00a0Equally important was feeling that there was a comfortable space for visiting with facilities for visitors, like the ability to have a \u2018real cup of tea\u2019, especially after a long journey.<\/p>\n
For some, the particular forensic mental health service environment, if coupled with a detached attitude of the nursing staff, was off-putting.\u00a0 Some forensic environments seemed more prison-like than health or therapeutic environments. \u00a0In the words of one forensic carer, the secure care setting was \u2018a strange, strange environment\u2019.\u00a0 Many forensic carers reported feeling intimidated by early (and sometimes subsequent) visits, especially to high secure units:<\/p>\n
Even for myself, to be fair, the first couple of times in fact the very first time\u2026 it\u2019s really intimidating having never been in that environment. Extremely intimidating for me and, you know, I\u2019m no\u2019 really a lily-livered character, I\u2019m quite a strong person… (sister)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just a feeling, but you always felt you were visiting a prison rather than a hospital and I suppose you know the sort of high fences and the razor wire didn\u2019t quite fit in with a hospital image. (father)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
One interviewee kept referring to the nurses and staff as prison guards, and then would correct herself, but she was not unique in making this reference:<\/p>\n
Everybody goes about wi keys, you know, like, they\u2019re like gaolers, and that is how it feels. That is how it feels. And sometimes [name of patient] still refers to it as \u2018I\u2019m still in jail\u2019, you know. \u00a0(sister)<\/p>\n
We used to feel we were like a criminal yourself\u2026 although all the security is understandable, the staff behave like prison wardens\u2026 you don\u2019t experience courtesy.\u00a0 My stomach used to be in knots, my mouth bone dry \u2013 it was a hugely difficult and unpleasant experience every time we went. \u00a0(sister)<\/p>\n
Walking in wasn\u2019t a very friendly atmosphere, it was all locked doors, it was you were left waiting in the waiting room before you could get in, there was just\u2026 there was no kind of welcoming, it wasn\u2019t that welcoming a feeling and it felt quite charged.\u201d (mother)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Views about experiences of visiting someone at the State Hospital were repeatedly contrasted with those of visiting medium secure units, usually making the comparison that it was more relaxed in the latter:<\/p>\n
The [name of medium secure unit] is far better you know, it\u2019s far better\u2026 it\u2019s just a better feeling about it you know. (father)<\/p>\n
It was much more a case of you know between the hours of… and you know you didn\u2019t feel you were racing to get there [name of medium secure unit] because you might be 10 minutes late and miss the bus and things like that, so that was a lot more relaxed. (father)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
That said, there were reports from carers of positive visiting experiences at the State Hospital\u2019s Visitors Centre<\/p>\n
Skye Centre because that\u2019s like a communal lounge area and there\u2019s a big TV and there\u2019s a little shop that the patients can go to and there\u2019s sort of a tea and coffee area and you\u2019re not so… you\u2019re still supervised but it\u2019s not so in your face you know it\u2019s a bigger area so you\u2019re more spread out and the nurses are further away so they\u2019re not like in your face. \u00a0(sister)<\/p>\n
[Name of person] likes to go to the Skye Centre. \u00a0He identified it\u2019s a nice place with comfortable chairs and real teacups. (friend)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Interviewees identified the importance of visiting areas being welcoming for families and friends.\u00a0 Carers felt that many of the places where visits took place were overly restrictive and unsatisfactory, even taking into account appreciation of the need for security.\u00a0 Places that were lacking as far as the carers were concerned had \u2018hard wooden dining chairs\u2019, no or poor tea and coffee facilities, felt like \u2018goldfish bowls\u2019, lacked privacy and were generally clinical environments that inhibited interactions between carers and their relatives:<\/p>\n
There was no kind of visiting area, there was no tea or coffees, toilet, there was nothing and I\u2019ve travelled an hour and a half up the road. \u00a0(mother)<\/p>\n
There is nowhere that the family can walk outside the wards with their relative.\u00a0 This should have been planned for. Visitors have to go to the ward and sit in the dining room. \u00a0(father)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
An ability to be flexible around when visits take place was also identified by forensic carers as important in determining the quality of their visit.\u00a0 As 44% of survey respondents identified not being able to visit when it suited them, this is clearly an area of importance for forensic carers.\u00a0 There were positive examples of such flexibility:<\/p>\n
Basically the arrangement is that you know you decide or you say when you want to come and visit and provided there\u2019s no\u2026 you know they\u2019ll look in the diary and I mean obviously if he had\u2026 if either of them had got something else at that time they would say so and if I\u2019m booked in for a visit then presumably they would manage it, but they have managed. (father)<\/p>\n
I\u2019m allowed to stay longer than normal if, for example, I have to travel back on say a Monday\u2026 I\u2019ll be allowed to see my daughter whenever. \u00a0They [name of medium secure unit] always say `yes no problem\u2019 once I ask, I say `look I\u2019m going back tomorrow can I come in the morning?\u2019 `yes it\u2019s no problem\u2019 (mother)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hospital environments The facilities available for visiting were important and affected carers\u2019 perceptions of forensic mental health care.\u00a0 Having a relaxing atmosphere, some flexibility in visiting times, and good staff support were vital components of a \u2018good experience\u2019. \u00a0Equally important was feeling that there was a comfortable space for visiting with facilities for visitors, like … Continue reading Hospital environments<\/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\/201"}],"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=201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/201\/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=201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.researchunbound.org.uk\/forensic-mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}