Hi Everybody, Need to Know About Nova Scotia Mental Hospital Care

[axeman52]

Is there anybody here from Nova Scotia who has gone through the psychiatric system at the hospital? If I have to go what should I expect? Please, if anybody reads this soon could you respond, I meet with a new PDoc this morning and want to know what to expect.

[Christina]

Welcome to the forum Axeman.

I am not from Nova Scotia so I am not able to share my experience. However, I acquired my pdoc while as an inpatient in the hospital and I am very happy with him. He is knowledgeable and thorough.

Let us know how it went and regards.

[axeman52]

Hi Christina,

Thanks for the reply I did meet with him (he's a friend of mine, too) and he didn't mention the hospital 'cause I don't want to die, I just want to be 'normal' again. He offered to try and get me a PDoc but said it would be later in the week before I would hear from him. In the mean time, I am having day of pure anxiety, have to ask my wife what I should be doing, blah blah. Anyway thanks for responding, and I hope you're doing well. Just to connect with someone helps.

Axeman

Welcome to the forum Axeman.

I am not from Nova Scotia so I am not able to share my experience. However, I acquired my pdoc while as an inpatient in the hospital and I am very happy with him. He is knowledgeable and thorough.

Let us know how it went and regards.

[paul m]

Hello Axeman52. I don't think anyone likes hospitals, but sometimes they do provide necessary services. I don't if you were asking about an inpatient or out patient program, but it doesn't matter.

Services and quality vary from hospital to hospital. If you do get a bad hospital it's like having bad seats at a hockey game, you can either let it ruin your experience or try to get as much as you can out of a bad situation.

If nothing else, ask lots of questions. What out patients services are there? Where can I get more info on my illness? What are all of the different treatment options available? How can I find out about them? etc etc. Good Luck and Take Care. paul m

P.S. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines normal as "usual or ordinary : not strange" . So it depends where you are. On here you are normal and I suspect that in a lot of places that I've been that I'm the normal one. Certainly anyone who has been to a session of our national parliament and watched a bunch of highly paid politicians bang on there desks and jeering like school kids over a really stupid point would make anyone else feel normal at that point. LOL.

But I do know what you mean and it is awful to feel the way you do now. I hope that you feel better soon.

[Easterner]

Hi. Been over four years since I posted this question. Things are the same for me, except that now there is no mental health care in NS or NL (tried in both provinces.) May sound like conspiracy theories but the gov't.'s and the health authorities in these provinces have engineered systems where NOBODY gets mental health care. I have been diagnosed with 5 different disorders by 5 different pDocs. I have been refused treatment repeatedly. In the East, at least, there is a 'war' on the mentally ill. I have given up hope of ever being happy again.

is it any better ANYWHERE in Canada?!? I would move to get adequate health care

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[EggsAndBacon]

Hi Easterner. I live in NS too. I have to agree that the state of health care here is horrible. Not just mental health care but any primary health care. So, you're not wrong. Don't get me wrong, I've had a great psychiatric clinician and a pretty good men's health clinic doctor help me out. The hospital situation was bearable. I had to have ECT to really break the cycle and the psychiatrist was willing to do that. But I also had AMAZING family support fighting the doctors for me.

I found the help lines to be helpful as well.

I don't think it's a war on the mentally ill, though. When you have to choose between evil and incompetence for a reason why someone does something, it's almost always incompetence.
The politicians in charge of health care are incompetent. When your Minister of Health laughs at nurses describing the hell they go through, who stands a chance? When a person has to wait more than 10 years to get a family doctor if they aren't rich or connected, what does that tell us?

Other provinces do a better a job, by far.

Believe it or not, the best mental health care I've seen is in Alberta. They have modern psychiatric facilities and provincial hospitals and have had so for many years. There is almost no wait time to get a doctor, even in more rural areas.

I've heard good things about more urban areas in BC and Ontario having decent mental health care.

But, keep trying. A major move in the middle of a mental health issue is not wise. Get stabilized. Take your time. Get your supports in another province in place before you go. Make sure you'll have good work and living arrangements to go to.

Take the time to educate yourself about your condition as much as you can. I'm sure you already do that, but keep doing that.

I hope that helps. Keep the help line number on your phone. Call it when you need help. If you've got family that will fight with you, great! If not, try contacting the Canadian Mental Health Association and keep looking for organizations that will help advocate for you. Keep fighting. It does get better.

[AJ]

Welcome to the forum Eastener and EggsAndBacon. EggsAndBacon has made some good suggestions. Getting as much support in place as possible before a move will go a long way.

While I agree some provinces have better halth care resources than others, our Canadian health care system does not work very efficiently. I believe that is in part due to the allocation and amount of funding, and the will of health care providers to provide a co-ordinated collaboration with eachother to provide the services so desperately needed. I won't continue and get on my soap box.

I moved to a rural town in Alberta, and there is one family doctor taking new patients. I chose to make the trip to the big city to continue seeing the doctor I've had for years. Thankfully she was willing to keep me as patient.

[paul m]

Hello Eastener and EggsAndBacon and welcome to the forum, Take Care. paul m