Feeling quite strong within myself right now, so will see how this post goes.

Pretty impressed tbh, it's been an ongoing thread built up of 6 weeks of experience... as such though, and reading on with your post I think certain nuances have been missed, I could be wrong... just getting that impression.

This is the UK and based on the nhs which is the abbreviation for national health service. As such it is publically funded via taxes and national insurance that every employee must pay. The NHS over recent years has had massive cuts to it's expenditure with that being markedly shown in the mental health sector. There was an interesting video clip highlighted in the news section of these boards (edit: found link - http://forums.psychcentral.com/curre...lly-unwel.html ) that highlighted how thinly stretched mental health resources are and as such the police are often used as a first line of safety for patients who are struggling be they of harm to themselves (suicidal) or believe they are of harm to others and have called emergency services for help and intervention. Police cells are used to house these people (including self harm) until psychiatric services can come to assess.

In hospitals, staffing levels are appalling. On our ward with 24 patients the staff levels have been cut to 5,5,4 (early,late,night). Now, baring in mind that we have had a level one patient on the ward for the last 4 weeks (which means he needs a staff member by him at all times) actually has reduced it to 4,4,3. Pretty confident this is a national problem with exception to private healthcare and as I can't afford £500 a night... I've had to make do... transferring even if it was possible would have been unlikely to help and if anything would have reduced visitations from my wife as they'd have most likely moved me to another city (right at the beginning I was warned this might happen if my city had no beds available).

With regards to self harm, it depends on the ward... as mine was very mixed in diagnosis... since I had no access to anything that could do serious harm, was pretty much left to it.

Been told that on one of the women's ward they have a very high no tolerance to it and took extreme steps to curbing that behaviour. When the support worker who instigated that change told me about what was put into place I was both shocked and appalled at the extremity the staff had gone to: he advised that patients almost seemed to compete with who could self harm the more, so it was put into place that when self harm was found to occur, the patient was put in isolation, made to strip down and given a patients gown to curb the behaviour. No messing around, no counselling... just if you do it, this is what we will do.

Not going to tackle this one as my previous posts and acknowledgements since my time being here speaks for itself.

I think (and yes I acknowledge I'm turning things about here) this may be coming from your own experience and regret.

I am not exactly one for self pity as such... frustration and angry with confusion, point and an inability to control my moods and emotions... but not self pity, at least not with physical issues. I look at my scars and they do not bother me... they do not define me... they don't say who I am. Others can try and judge and to limit that (more out of agitation of dealing with the narrow minded rather than concern) I am striving to keep them concealed for the most part.