I've been an inpatient at Wesley twice and while some of the staff (specifically those who worked in the kitchen) were understand and patient I also had a terrible experience with one doctor and one nurse in particular. The first bad experience was when a nurse told me I had to cover up because the singlet I was wearing during an Australian Summer was inappropriate because men were present. As I was there mainly due to PTSD because of SA this was not what I wanted to hear while I was trying to get myself of the ledge. The second one was when my doctor visited my room and saw a book about witchcraft. She then told me that my interest in other religions - specifically Wicca - was probably the reason I was mentally ill and said I should see a priest to help my healing.
Posted Date : 12/06/2022
Anonymous
I was there recently in the eating disorder unit. Most of staff were efficient and caring. Wonderful
main group psychologist. However the facilities are terrible. Time for an upgrade Wesley! Shared bathrooms .. not ideal in a unit mostly of women.
The unit was small and stuffy. We were located right at the end of the unit and no outdoor space. The only time we got to go outside was when a staff member had time to take us.
The “rules” are horrible. Yes, they are there for a reason, but some are just ridiculous. To
Name a few .. All meals are timed, if you don’t finish meals it’s ensure (meal supplement) even if it’s something that you really don’t like .. you either eat it or it’s ensure, bathrooms are locked at night, have to sit down for an hr after meals, there’s way too much down time… !
Another down side to this program is there wasn’t any 1:1 therapy. You get to see the psychiatrist once or twice a week and that’s it. The rest is all group therapy, I found this really hard to have no individual support.
My experience was not the best , however it might work for some people.
Anonymous
I unfortunately suffered depression and anxiety a couple of year’s ago and was admitted to Wesley. The only negatives were that the accommodation was a little tired and more stimulating activities would have been helpful to me but this admission saved my life. I cannot praise the nursing staff in the mood disorder unit enough. They deal with very difficult patients with a wide range of mental health problems and do an amazing job. The psychology team are great and give you valuable tools to manage your illness to recover from your illness and encouragement to move onto a better life. These professionals work tirelessly to improve the patients in their care. The chaplain is a beautiful kind woman and the food was wonderful. The staff herte are very specialised in their field and gave me the strength and courage to get through. Cant thank them enough.
Anonymous
I had a couple of admissions to Wesley Ashfield. It is a small, sleepy hospital and the atmosphere resembles that of a nursing home. I swear this is true, some of the rooms do not even have their own ensuites and you have to shower, toilet and brush your teeth in a public unisex restroom (one person only room, but still!) And they have this weird system where you are compulsorily put in to share when you first go in and must work your way into a single room over time. Unlike other hospitals which prioritize you for a single room when you first arrive and are most acutely in need of space and privacy it happens the opposite here. Too bad if a whole bunch of long-stayers are in the private rooms! There are share rooms with ensuites but I was unfortunate enough to score the shared restroom (which is in a very public area) away from the share room. They have three distinct streams – Eating Disorder (about 10 patients), Drug and Alcohol (about 15 patients) and General Psychiatric (about 15 patients). Because of the low numbers you are just thrown in together into a generalist depression/anxiety program but my pressing need was for my personality disorder and though there were some elements of Dialectical Behavioural Therapy it wasn’t enough and the therapists didn’t seem to be well-versed enough in it. I stayed 5 weeks nonetheless and my life was changed for the better because of the high quality psychiatrist I managed to fluke. Did I also mention the place is chronically understaffed nursing- wise with literally only one on at a time for my floor/unit. If you are not eating disorder or drug/alcohol I would hot foot it over to St John of God a couple of kilometres away.
Anonymous
Saved my life; group therapy psychologist’s were helpful, meals were great & met some interesting people.
Anonymous
Was in Wesley’s Eating Disorder Program. FANTASTIC nurses! Some were incompetent, but there were a few who really kept me alive in there. Groups were helpful, food was good (as good as it can be when you’re anorexic) and transition to day program was great.