Within the last week I was sectioned by the police and taken to a secure mental health unit. I was allowed home and the crisis team who visited me have have indicated that there is a long journey ahead of me with treatment and medication, meaning that for the first time in 25 years I'm unable to work. (it appears from initial assessments that I've not been overly well since 1992, but have built up numerous coping and concealing mechanisms which have given the appearance to the outside world of relative normality) I have been particularly '"less than well" since the beginning of february this year, and since then I agreed to arrangements from a couple of doorstep agents collecting debt (both from utility companies) approaching £350 per month. There are additional debts and last years council tax is in the hands of the bailiffs. We now have a limited family income of under £1800 per month with a few young children. There are also a few other issues that have a financial bearing, including faliure to SORN the car at the beginning of the year when I became unable to drive (the car wasn't used but for some reason I just wasn't in the correct mental place to SORN), and a number other outstanding debts. No-one in the family smokes/drinks/used drugs etc, we have no telly, no landline, and have cut all spending to the bone over the last 12 months. At the moment I'm really unclear where to go from here, or who to contact to get things worked out in the right way so any advice would be really appreciated. I feel that were just about treading water at the moment, but in-laws are very kindly propping us up by helping with children's uniforms and clubs etc. I hope I've been as clear as possible here, I may not to be able to reply quickly to posts as I have quite a lot of appointments with the Mental Health Teams and the assorted medications that I've been started on have altered what my usual perception of normality is. Many thanks

Can anyone help This is really very important and urgent. A very close relative has dementia. Spouse today took relative for a Nhs hospital appointment and “apparently” relative became aggressive – threatened to kill the doctor and spouse !! This, of course, is part of the illness - and also because of a current bladder infection which can cause aggression in anyone. Relative is not normally like this. The trouble is that the hospital Doctor “sectioned” relative. They will now not allow him out of the hospital. The specialist doctor, to whom he was aggressive, will now not be back in the hospital until Tuesday. And it seems they can legally – potentially – keep relative in the hospital for months. I just do not know what to do. But am trying to be practical and quickly ask as many people as possible I know - who work in the medical and legal industry – how we can extract relative from the Nhs hospital system ?? And back into a known environment with a carer. He is in an open ward surrounded by other mentally ill people. Just last week he was staying perfectly well with family, with a carer, in a normal home environment and loving family surrounding him and helping - and was absolutely fine. Family have Power of Attorney over all affairs and physical well-being. But the hospital have "sectioned” relative under a certain Act, stating that relative turned up at the hospital of “own free will” - despite it being for a regular assessment appointment and not for an admission. Which seems to infer that family - even with Power of Attorney - can do nothing. At this very late hour trying to research all avenues. Can anyone offer advice on the correct steps to take to very quickly extract relative from this distressing environment. When compos mentis this is the very situation relative demanded family ensured never happened. Can someone help? Please. xx