Hi @Faith-and-Hope, @Former-Member, @Former-Member, @patientpatient and @greenpea, thank you for all for your comments. We live in a part of Australia where demand for the CATT team is very high and their willingness to come and visit is very low. In particular, they do not like to come unless the patient is compliant. (They demand to speak to the patient on the phone etc) They also do not see the point in coming if there is not an available hospital bed, and usually there is not. My eldest son who has schizophrenia was actually a whole lot more critically ill before he developed psychosis and the CATT team rarely came and were often quite rude when they did come. What they in fact prefer you to do is meet them at the hospital ER. The presence of psychosis makes all the difference. They properly assess you with a view to hospitalization. I have spoken to my middle son and warned him that I will call the CATT team if he shows the risk taking behaviour. The past week he has been more settled. But I avoid the CATT team wherever possible because they tend to be not very nice or helpful people unless schizophrenia is present.
My eldest son has been in shared living facilities and was refused admission the last time he applied because apparently the staff were too traumatised by his last stay to be prepared to take him back. I would like to be able to say specifically why, but I don't think this site will allow it. Other carers do not know my boys like I do. I am good at handling them. I know how to counsel them. I have several times had psychiatrists phoning me late at night to say how much they have personally learnt from watching me handle my eldest son and I have had them phoning me for advice with difficult situations, too. So what I want is not a heap of other people who don't know my family to come into my home. I am the best person to do the job. All I need is to be able to afford to do so.
My eldest son is the one who is in the public system and their attitude is that he is the one of central importance who needs to be protected. Their idea is to rescue him from his family and split the family up. They do not look at the family situation as a whole. They do not consider the stress on the family of having to visit someone not at home frequently. Or whether it is going to be detrimental to some other family person's health for parents to be away from the home directing all their attention to a sibling.
I have had one phone call from Carers Australia which I have to follow up when I get a chance. I am also speaking to a financial advisor to see what I can practically do in my circumstances.
My eldest son is back on his meds and has had one of his anti-psychotics reduced in an attempt to alleviate his restlessness. It appears to be working, so that is good. But his mood is very changeable all the time and he is stlil battling depression and occasional psychosis. The middle son is still creating a lot of filth and havoc and problems with moving things. I think he would like to be getting an income but he needs a lot of help to get to the first step.
I have taken tomorrow off work to sort some things out. One day at a time.
