Nicky Marr: Bridge closures send a chill through us all
“The Kessock Bridge is closed due to a police incident”.
How often have those words been shared recently? I feel a chill every time I read them, knowing that at the heart of that bald headline there is a person – with family and friends who love them – in despair, and in desperate need of help.
With two lengthy closures in recent days – perhaps more by the time you read this – hundreds, if not thousands of people’s journeys have been delayed or diverted.
And yet the only comments I have seen on often cruel and insensitive social media platforms, have been genuine concern for whoever is in need, and calls for more support for our crippled mental health support services.
It is truly heart-warming to see that so many Highlanders support a massive increase in mental health services.
I echo those calls wholeheartedly.
NHS Highland must be given immediate resources from the Scottish Government to recruit the specialist psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists that are needed to offer help where it is required. And if enough skilled staff are not available locally, there must be incentives to bring them in from abroad.
I’ve not written about this before, but now seems to be as good a time as any.
About a decade ago one of our girls was in turmoil, far beyond the level that we, as parents, were equipped to deal with, no matter who we spoke to, or how much we read or researched.
Our GP referred her to CAMHS, the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service, but we were horrified to learn that the waiting list was over six months. To us, this felt urgent, and immediate.
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Luckily, we could afford to turn to the private sector. The advice and support we bought seemed to give her the breathing space and the tools to begin to cope. It also gave us some tools, and some perspective, too. By the time we reached the top of the NHS waiting list we were beginning to find acceptance and a way forward, as a family.
I occasionally allow myself to wonder if things would have turned out differently if we hadn’t been able to go private and had had to wait those six months. Would her troubles have escalated further?
We rarely hear about the outcome of these too-regular ‘police incidents’ – rightly so. Every individual has the right to privacy.
But just as they have a right to privacy, they also have a right to support. We should be entitled to the same care and attention to heal our broken minds as we receive to heal our broken bodies.
I can’t – and won’t – fault the staff within the NHS, at The Phoenix Centre where CAMHS are based, or those working in the community. I just wish there were more of them, and that they were better resourced. And that help was available to every single person at the time of need, whether they can afford to pay for it or not.
