Forward Thinking Birmingham - Birmingham

Nimra

If I could give 0 stars I would. Absolutely pathetic. I’m sorry but don’t come to them for help. They don’t care. And I say that because I had the crisis team come see me. They then said they’ll refer me to livingwell consortium. I get a message few days later saying they’ll come see me again. They didn’t. I called living well consortium to see how long it’ll be for me to speak to a professional about my mental health but they said fwb didn’t refer me. I called fwb up and they said I’ve been discharged from them. No one told me that I’ve been discharged. Not a warning. Called the next place up that they supposedly “referred” me to. They turn around and said fwb didn’t refer me to them. I am upset. I trusted this company with my mental health. People are here because this is their cry for help. But you don’t help. What’s the point of the business. Do better.

Joanna V.

(update - image is screenshot of a post I’ve come across about this service online)

Oaklands & finch road- Honestly pretty awful, although James from the ICON team (?) really put in effort to do his job attentively which I valued tremendously, it would be great if more staff seemed this invested in patient outcomes and understood the value of quality care. I wish that FTBs systems were more smooth running, and suited to the type of people they’re supposed to be assisting. The constant changes in staff, and inadequate care are harmful, not just speaking of my own case but also others I’m aware of. I believe the issue goes beyond understaffing especially given conversations I’ve had with people who work for this service that also express shock or frustration at the inadequacies of medics/system. I’m unsure if calling the reception to give updates actually results in anything most of the time. There honestly seems to be a general lack in common sense if not just plain lack of interest in thorough support - and unfortunately bare minimum is not enough in this line of work. Sometimes it’s so bad it’s laughable but only for a moment because really it’s just such a shame they’re the only NHS option. When there are mostly 1 star reviews, and many people saying they’re made to feel worse when dealing with FTB surely intervention or measures should be taken. The pharmacists seem to be the only ones that diligently do their job consistently. If anyone is reading this and has the energy or power to do anything, please do, the service needs to be improved in order for patients to experience genuinely improved outcomes. I cannot imagine the frustration and lack of faith I would feel as a parent of a patient, knowing how I feel as a young adult patient. 🙁

M D.

One star too many. This agency for adolescents isn't fit for purpose. My daughter has very complex mental health needs and has been given a student to work with her like my daughter is a text book case study.

Reception staff also useless.

It's about time there handling of young people was investigated as my daughter has been passed from pillar to.post expected to relive her past trauma, student leaving the room mid session to get upset what the hell. You as a student should in your training should be taught about counter transference. It's not your platform to share your trauma with my daughter. Or to be sitting there clock watching I am ranging and it's time we go private your a disgrace and should be shut down.

M S.

If I could give 0 star, I would. The call centre staff have no idea what they're doing to help my daughter's crisis. They kept saying I chose wrong department and non of them know how to help further, no information given for options to help. What a waste of time and space. I hope they sleep well at night for the risk of other's life! Useless!

Catherine M.

OAKLANDS, SELLY OAK - couldnt get a new doctor/one that didnt get let go after one meeting/a new appointment for a year and a half, and they had the gall to threaten to terminate me and leave me to the care of my GP (where they cant prescribe me certain meds) if i didnt respond in 14 days because i missed ONE appointment that was sent in the post last minute. not exactly what someone with metal health issues wants to be left to figure out, especially severe social anxiety where i cant make contact with them so easily. caused me to spiral but maybe its for the better they let me go and i can be free of that dump

Johnnys M.

dissapointed that i ever put my trust in this place.

i have been having my day to day living disrupted, from severe symptoms, for absolutely no reason ever since i was a child which is getting worse and worse since i became an adult! no huge event that triggered or any known trigger as it all comes up for no reason. yet this service told me that my issues are on the mild side without even looking any further to my problems. no building a rapport. no nothing.

i understand a professional is the professional. but i know what i go through.
if getting triggered out of no where to the point you immediately have a breakdown, self destruct, don’t eat don’t sleep, and isolate yourself as well as becoming paranoid that someone/a close one is out to hurt you to the point you lock yourself in your bedroom and become hyper viligant is mild with “nothing else wrong with me” then arent i the biggest broken piece in the book?
i cant even sleep without getting a random panic attack to the point i start crying for no damn reason. is this how the average healthy human is suppose to be? with just an easy fixable problem on the side?

i have been getting worse and worse since their negligence and have been scared to get help again. all i can do is wait until i finally give up.

must also add their follow up care is absolutely inadequate, telling someone with clear issues to refer themselves to a place that doesn’t even allow me to do the care, i was asked to do, because it’s not for people who self refer. great!

Niamh C.

Referred by GP 14 months ago, not even received a letter to say I’d been referred.
Crisis team sent me home and I was back 2 days later, I then worsened, needed sectioning and sent home with 0 support and then sectioned again.
I sat in the road and then I got sent home a week ago and called the crisis team, which I was laughed at by when explaining my symptoms because they couldn’t put me onto the children’s line because it was full so I had to speak to the adult service.
I was then given a booklet telling me to do 5 star jumps by Ola because apparently that would cure my psychosis and not make me want to further bang my head against the wall and smack myself in the face, which then they would’ve sedated me instead of helping me ☺️ what a lovely team. I think you should all work at Morrison/sainsbury instead (not that there’s anything wrong with working there) just simply that you couldn’t give a toss if someone died infront of them. I pray for the state of the mental health service and the future of my own mental health.
It took everything in me to speak up about how I felt and I got laughed at.

Damian T.

Forward thinking birmingham do not exist to help. They do not want to step in when people are begging them, they will only help once your child is to far gone, they won't even give your child 5 minutes of their time unless they are actively trying to kill themselves or are frequently being physically violent to others.