I waited a long time to be seen at the Zinnia Centre for mental health support. The waiting times are ridiculous. I did not find them particularly helpful and have been left disappointed by NHS mental health services. I have sought support from a local organisation who have been much more helpful and supportive than the Zinnia Centre.
They were good, patient and very good to me.
I have been an in-patient at the Zinnia Centre on a few occasions. I had a good experience with one particular doctor. They were fair but firm which I find more helpful. Other doctors are not as firm and I think they need to be,
Good when I needed help.
They have helped me with my mental health. They do a lot over the phone or get my GP to sort me out.
I have been going for seven years and they continue to change my medication. I have not found anything that helps. I do get seen face to face but not that often.
dr sadira on saffron ward had killed my son and she still allowed to work
Duty nurses at zinnia centre do not care if a patients is suicidal or self harms. Patients want to commit suicide and the duty nurses have been diabolical.
They are overworked and helpful but they don't always keep their promises to me. They promise CPNs then say no, same with support workers. I don't get any real help.
I enjoy myself here. I was referred by the hospital. I also have home treatments provided 4 days a week. I am happy with the service. They are nice people and they really really help me.
I go for mental health support. They're very very good. I like them here.
They give me an appointment every six months. I had the last appointment brought forward and they were good. They listened to me and gave me support.
I've been sectioned a few times and the care has been so so. It's okay but they have a lot to learn.
I was discharged from there last November. Accessing them at times during a crisis is virtually impossible. I waited 2/3 days for them to answer which this time made things worse. Trying to get through to a nurse was impossible but thankfully I do not need them now.
My brother received excellent care and support for mental health issues. The staff are amazing and communication is very good.
No good. I don't even know if I am with them or not.
I have to take a taxi to go and pick up medication. I see the psychiatrist every 6 months. When I was first sectioned it was daunting which I think still applies. The 2 CPN's I had were okay. The centre was so busy, there were so many patients in there. It can be quite stressful.
GP referred to Zinnia centre. They seemed to be very easy to talk to for 15 minutes and they have done regular 6 months mental health checks. They share updates / reviews, it’s a good service.
Went through support worker, referred me to other services. They were helpful, could call when I needed them. They were good.
Every 6 months I speak to them, they are a waste of time. I tell them what’s going on and they don’t respond well or give me any ideas on what to do. Difficult in person than over the phone. Crisis line isn’t always available.
They get to know you and they keep leaving you get used to them and they keep leaving prescribed tablets. I have got appointment in July but doctor has left. To be honest with you if It haven’t for them, I won’t be here today.
When trying to call Duty Team or CPN you're often just left waiting on the phone for ages as no one answers.
Crisis team left me in the waiting room a long time. I had an appointment at 10am and was in the waiting room for at least 45 minutes to an hour. They frisk you when you go in there, which is understandable. They were good. Individual staff are really good. Doctors, nurses - really good. One gave us directions from where we were without using google maps, and she was really good, went above and beyond. Only thing I would say, it would be better for better communication.
Not answering calls directly by CPN and going through to reception but reception aren’t even answering. No community psychiatric nurse. She’s an outpatient, it’s disgusting because they can’t get through. Can’t get crisis information.
Crap, they're useless. They don't answer the phone. They're useless you end up calling the crisis number and they send me more medication that I don't want. One time during covid they did send me to respite for a week but the process took a long time. They would say they haven't had the paperwork and you can only stay there for two weeks tops. And they have 24 hour staff.
My experience in last 6 months - CPN’s fail to come back on messages left at answer phone.
Difficulty in contacting them and often unable to get through. We leave messages but they're never returned.
Not very helpful they see me after every 6 months and provide me very little support.
trying to get repeat prescription for my partner who hasnt slept properly for weeks. It will get very serious soon. Her mental health is at risk and she has a terminal illness. Ive been trying yet again today but the main switchboard number just rings out then off. Ive tried several different sections to help me but get fobbed off or given a direct line which also rings out . Many have no ansaphone facility and just nothinn happens.I cant find out what is going on .
My son attended the Zinnia for several weeks. He loved going there. Up until now he has refused to attend anywhere but the Zinnia has such welcoming, friendly and devoted staff that he felt very relaxed there. Staff were amazing and not only cared about my son but also about me as his mother. They gave me information for support for myself too. I am full of praise for the Zinnia and hope they see my write up. They were keen to gain insight into my sons interests and home life. The one thing that stands out with the staff is how dedicated they are in making a positive difference to the patient. They should be very proud of themselves.
Was referred to them but they don’t answer the phone in emergency. More integration with patients needed.
My sister was supported by them however as she has a learning disability we didn't feel that she was supported or signposted to whom she should have been. We feel that she slipped through the net
I suffer with BPD, cyclomthima and Adhd. This centre have 0 empathy, organisation or any want to help its patients. Change MH team if you can ASAP
Attended day services after a mental health breakdown
Some aspects of this service are great..I have a great Support,Time & Recovery worker who’s supported me over a number of years. The difficulty I have is in accessing other mental health professionals when needed. I do not at this point need a permanent CPN but I would like to be able to access one or two named nurses when I’m in crisis or heading towards it. I find it virtually impossible to approach Duty services and talk to someone I don’t already know when I’m unwell. If this were ever possible it would help me better manage my own mental health.
A lawless environment not conducive to healing. Patient safety put at risk daily. No regard for patient human rights or the mental health laws at large. A hospital in urgent nerd of Audit if it's Practices.
Haven't heard from zinnia called them with my new no as my phone was taken in burglerede. To be told I had been discharged to go to gp to be referred again,this is playing with my mental health can't deal with this
Long term treatment which has slowly helped my mental health condition.
Much improved service over the last few months. Been able to attend for a visit and also had home visits
They took a year to give me an app. Then I had to melt down at tge doors and a nurse took me in and got my psychiatrist to get intouch and now its every 3 mths. Still trying to get support and proper diagnosis of P TSD which prison treated me for for a short while.
Don’t help anyone.
frontline staff don't answer the phone for half hour and when finally they give you an unpleasant look I almost had a panic attack from their demena. My experience whilst in crises emotionally and mentally were as follows: Irregular psychiatric prescriptions after being humiliated with a duty nurse who clearly was action superior, not giving me a chance to talk finally I insist to obtain my care plan and medication she gets up calls few arrogant and very unpleasant service manager and his pals. They take me into a private room and have a go at me until I leave in tears ...Very very unkind.
My friend is under this Cmht and it is useless, leave clients without meds for months, on more than one occasion, the neglect that they show thier clients is truly shocking, how is this place still operating is beyond me, I have some shocking stories I could tell.
They should not be working with vulnerable individuals and will contribute to patients anxiety and illnesses. It takes them more than 45 minutes to answer the intercom from their own receptionist!
Items and valuables such as cash and phone chargers are being stolen by staff who then lie to the patients saying that it was never there, they are gaslighting mentally ill patients?!
What is going on here? I have heard that the night staff drink on shift, in their office? Perfect alibis since the only people that can witness these are the patients themselves?
I went into the service for a second opinion having been registered as a patient at the trust for years whilst all the clinicians I met there failed to identify that I've autism with which I was diagnosed recently by a specialist team. Upon arrival, I was body and bag searched extensively by a big armed man who gave me a proper shock from the contact. It raised my stress levels for days after. But leaving this initial shock and disappointment aside, I then met two psychiatrists who demonstrated a complete oblivion about autism and how it affects me and what it means to the way I communication. Having been scarred badly by my previous treatments at the trust which failed to notice and adjust to my autism resulting in a medical trauma and CPTSD symptoms, I do not feel safe to use this service. I saw no evidence of reasonable adjustments at the place nor special autism training in the clinicians as required under the autism act and I genuinely do not believe that they understood my mental health needs at all. Twitter is better help to autistic patients with mental health needs in my opinion, I have found a lot more care there in my experience. I keep being referred to PALS for my issues which is of no use as they do nothing about them. I do not recommend autistic people use this service. It is unhealthy, unfriendly and untherapeuric.
Every interaction with this service is detrimental to my mental health and welfare. I have better therapeutic relationships with the security staff than the clinicians. The only clinician who treats you as a human being is Duty Nurse. No continuity of care. Have had to chase every referral and effectively be my own CPN. Have spoken with so many women in the waiting area in similar states of distress at the condescending and dehumanising treatment.
Medication was not given when it was meant to. I was told it would be delivered then later on in the day a staff member calls asking me to pick it up, stating some guff about timing. I didnt beleive them, i got the impression they didnt want to come out to deliver the meds. It's almost as if it is standard practice to act disingenuously in an attempt to shirk responsibility, much like a chancer would do. Again staff phoned asking to come in (expecting me to drop everything) saying. consultant doesnt come every day so as he is here its best if you see him today. i said i can't come today. Then later on in the day, they turn up at my house unannounced. Again chancers, shirking responsibility. fundamental lack of consideration that patients have lives too. There is inherent in such behaviour a disdain for patients which demonstrates a mentality of their time is not as valuable ours.
We are sorry to read your feedback. Please do contact our Customer Relations team on 0800 953 0045 so that we can begin to investigate and look into this matter for you.
I currently attend the Zinnia Centre once every 8 months for only 30 minutes and i receive no support or help i have suffered from depression for 20 years the doctor doesn't listen to me or believe me in what i tell him i have seen 5 different doctors there and they all promise to help but only to leave without keeping to their promise so if you are reading this and you need some help stay well away from this place because you won’t get it here i don't really complain about things
We're very sorry to read your feedback about the Zinnia Centre. We can understand that you would be needing more support and it is unfortunate that we have had a number of changes in doctors at the Zinnia Centre. If you could make contact with our Customer Relations team on 0800 953 0045 they will be able to take further details from you and check on your upcoming appointments. We work closely with partner agencies to offer extra support for recovery and wellbeing. The service operated by Better Pathways, Creative Support and Mind will offer a more holistic and comprehensive approach. www.betterpathways.org.uk.
You may also wish to consider our Recovery College, sessions can be booked by calling 0121 301 3992 and you can visit the website www.bsmhft.nhs.u/rfa to view the sessions within the programme.
My stay at the Zinnia Centre was extremely good
I enjoyed the food and the staff talk to us as service user politely
Many thanks for your kind words. We will let the team know. We wish you well in your recovery.
My husband who suffers from poor mental health has been at the zinnia centre client for many years. Recently he has seen three different doctors since April 2018. It really stresses him out as every time he sees a different doctor he has to explain everything all over again. All of the doctors have been great but he should be seeing the same doctor every time.
Last time they changed the monthly appointments schedule to once in three months. We told them It would be impossible to wait that long so they then agreed to see him after every two-months.
We are sorry that your husband's doctor has changed. We do try to offer continuity but recently we have had difficulties recruiting and we use locum doctors where necessary in order to see all our patients. We are pleased that all our doctors were helpful and that you have agreed a suitable appointment schedule. We are currently receiving a large number of referrals so we need to constantly review the appointments we can offer. Wishing your husband the best for his recovery but also to note that support for carers is offered by Homegroup on 0300 304 5530, should you wish to contact them.
I use to go to Zinnia centre where doctor was very rude and unhelpful and lacked skills.
We are sorry to read your feedback. Please do contact our Customer Relations team on 0800 953 0045 so that we can identify the doctor and remedy this situation.
We have just been called back by a receptionist named Jackie. Our initial call ten minutes prior was in relation to an individual who had attended an appointment the previous day and was experiencing a serious episode. The receptionist "JACKIE." was very rude, abrupt and complained to us about having a queue at her reception... Then abruptly hung up.
Shocking service provision. I trust her managers will address the front line provision and deliver training as required. Not a good advertisement for the mental health service. I will be sharing this experience with our partners, stockholders and all service providers we work alongside .
I enjoyed my stay at the Zinnia Centre and would never go anywhere else
if I am sick
Thank you for your kind feedback. We will let the team know.
ll
Many thanks for your kind comment. We will let the team at Zinnia know.
They keep u on hold for ages and don't pick up. I have been in crisis twice and no one has helped at all. I think that this centre should be closed down and the staff should get dismissed.
We are concerned to read your feedback. Our Customer Relations team on 0800 953 0045 can look into this on your behalf. Please contact them if you have any difficulties accessing our teams at busy times. We have a dedicated Home Treatment team at Zinnia and if you are referred to that team a dedicated phone line is offered.
Don't follow through on promises. Difficult to contact. Their admin is useless.
We are really sorry to receive your feedback. Our Customer Relations team will be happy to help you and try to get things swiftly sorted, they are available on 0800 953 0045.