A national survey of people’s experiences of acute mental health inpatient services reveals that many feel they were let down in some important aspects of the care they received, according to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
More than 7,500 people recently discharged from 64 NHS Trusts across England gave their views on each stage of their care from the moment they were admitted to hospital to the support they got after they left. The findings from the survey underline two key issues that have been previously identified as priority areas for improvement: focusing on individuals’ needs and ensuring the safety of patients. Involving patients in decisions about their care and treatment is an important part of meeting their individual needs. When asked about this, though, only a third (34%) of people who responded to the survey said they were involved as much as they wanted to be. On patient safety, less than half (45%) said they “always” felt safe on the ward, while 39% “sometimes” felt safe and 16% did not feel safe at all. Focusing on individuals’ needs and ensuring patient safety were flagged up as the two top priorities for improvement in a review last year of NHS acute inpatient mental health services. Many Trusts had performed poorly in both these areas of care. The new survey also showed a lack of activities available to patients and limited access to talking therapies (such as counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy and anxiety management), with less than half of the 52% who wanted talking therapies getting any. Most patients (86%) reported having physical health checks in hospital – but only 44% of those with physical health problems felt that these were “definitely” taken care of. In addition, almost half (48%) of patients said the potential side effects of medicines that were prescribed to them while in hospital were not explained in a way they could understand.
