People Are Saying Stacey Dooley's New Psych Ward Documentary Is Heartbreaking
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According to MIND, one in four people are affected by mental health issues every year.
And whilst 23 per cent of NHS activity is taken up by mental illness, the mental health trusts actually only get 11 per cent of funding, according to the BBC.
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Which is why Stacey Dooley's documentary, On The Psych Ward, which dropped on BBC iPlayer yesterday, was not only very topical as people push to give mental health the focus it needs and deserves, it was a difficult watch for many who saw the severity of the problem up close.
Many took to Twitter to say they were left heartbroken after watching the doc.
One said: "@StaceyDooley thank you for raising this issue. Stacey Dooley 'on the psych ward' is a must watch for everyone. Hard to watch and extremely sad but our system is failing. The System is failing not the staff they are amazing."
A second chimed in: "This Stacey Dooley Psych Ward programme is heartbreaking. #staeydooley"
People were also commenting on youngsters affected: "Has anyone else watched this....it's so brilliant and heartbreaking too... What do we do for our young people in school?"
Whilst others were pleased Stacey and the BBC had handled it so sensitively: "This documentary was raw but handled with such sensitivity. @StaceyDooley highlighted some of the struggles MHN [mental health nurses] face every day, bed shortages, our own emotions, staffing, life and death decisions but it made me SO proud to be a MHN! Now can she come & film in a community team?!"
Another said: "@StaceyDooley What an inspirational documentary You are so brave to listen to all their stories It must have been so hard x #onthepsychward".
Stacey Dooley: On The Psych Ward took a look at how the NHS is struggling to cope with the amount of people affected by mental health.
It also shined a light on how difficult it is each day for mental health nurses and what an amazing job they're doing helping people with the resources they have.
Stacey spent three weeks at Springfield Hospital in London - one of the oldest mental health units in the UK - to see first-hand how people were battling mental health illnesses and how staff were coping under the limited funding.
But she wasn't just observing either, she actually worked alongside staff to help make decisions.
It was devastating to watch her meet some of the patients, including Rachelle, 29, who has been diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, attempting suicide 50-60 times in the last year and 80 times throughout her life.
But in the psych ward, she's not receiving the therapy she needs and staff agree a specialist unit where she'll receive therapy will benefit her.
She also met Laura, who was sectioned after a threatened suicide attempt and Kyle, who self harms.
The show is a heartbreaking look at the extent of Britain's mental health problem and left viewers realising just how much work is yet to be done.
If you are struggling with anything related to your mental health, please call a helpline, several of which you can find here on the NHS website.
Topics: TV and Film, BBC, Mental Health, wellbeing, Stacey Dooley, Health
