Users of mental health services have praised
the care they get from NHS doctors, nurses and other specialist staff,
including psychologists and social workers, in a major national survey
published today.
However, the mental health patient survey, published by the Healthcare
Commission, also highlights a number of areas where care could be improved,
including better emergency support and better information on the side
effects of medication.
The survey of 26,500 users of outpatient and community mental health
services, found that 77% rated their overall care as excellent, very
good or good. Less than one in ten rated their care as poor or very poor.
Most respondents (90%) have trust and confidence in their psychiatrist
and an even greater percentage (93%) trust their community psychiatric
nurse. There was also a slight increase since 2004 in the percentage
of people saying that they were treated with respect and dignity (from
79% to 80%) and in the number who felt their psychiatrists listened to
them carefully (from 68% to 69%).
However, the need for better access to crisis care was also highlighted
by the survey, with 52% saying that they did not have the phone number
of someone from local mental health services to contact in an emergency,
despite guidelines in the National Service Framework (NSF) for Mental
Health saying that they should.
The survey also found that only 40% had been given access to “talking
therapies” such as counselling or psychotherapy in the last 12
months. This is despite strong evidence that a combination of drugs and
psychological treatments can provide real benefits to people with mental
health problems.
Questions are also raised by the survey about continuity of care. The
majority (75%) of service users saw the same psychiatrist at their last
two visits; one in four did not. Those who had seen the same psychiatrist
on consecutive visits reported that they felt they were treated with
more respect and dignity than those who were seen by different psychiatrists.
Nearly half (44%) have had at least one appointment with a psychiatrist
cancelled in the last 12 months.
A high percentage (79%) of those who responded to the survey are not
in paid employment and almost half report being unable to work because
they are too ill. Around half of respondent who wanted help to find work
did not receive any.
Anna Walker, Chief Executive of the Healthcare Commission, said:
“ This
survey shows people who use mental health service have a lot of praise
for the doctors, nurses and other specialist staff providing their care.
The survey shows some improvement across the board and its good to see
that the service is moving in the right direction.
_ However, there
are still problems that need to be addressed. Service users need
better support and information, especially out of
hours. They need more access to counselling and they need better
continuity care. These are important challenges patients have set for
the service
and they need to be addressed. It is also important that we do
all we can to support service users who want help back to work.
_ The
Healthcare Commission will be examining individual trust’s
results in great detail and using the information to share best practice
and drive improvement. This survey of mental health service users
is part of our determined effort to shine a light on an important, and
often
neglected, part of health care.”
Service users were asked about the communication they had received as
part of the survey. Seventy-five percent of those who responded to the
survey who had been sectioned said they had had their rights explained
to them; one in four said they had not. Also, although most of those
who responded to the survey (93%) have taken medication for their illness
over the last year, 35% said that the possible side effects of the medication
were not discussed with them. 81% said they had been
involved in deciding what medication they should take.
The National Service Framework for Mental Health states that all those
using mental health services should have agreed a care plan with their
mental health provider, which outlines their assessment and how care
will be provided. The survey found that almost one in four had not been
involved in deciding what was in their care plan and over half said they
had not had their care plan reviewed in the last six months. Over half
(59%) of people on the standard care programme approach (CPA) had not
been given or offered a written copy of their care plan, while 70% of
those on enhanced CPA (for people with more acute needs) had been offered
or received a copy of their plan.
News is included
on this website to inform visitors about current health issues, but not
to endorse
any particular view or activity. Material in this news item
was first released by The Healthcare Commission on 12th September
2005. For further information, please visit
their
website using the link below. |
