Improvements in mental health care
Updated on 03 September 2007
More work needs to be done to improve community mental health services, a survey published by the Healthcare Commission has revealed.
The researchers questioned service users about their experiences and the report revealed more than one in three who wanted counselling did not get it, while fewer than half who wanted help finding work were offered it.
The findings showed there were some areas of progress such as better relationships with psychiatrists and a greater proportion of patients knowing who their care co-ordinator was.
But critics said the progress was insufficient, particularly given a recent injection of funds.
Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of mental health charity Sane, condemned the lack of real progress in the service and underlined areas in need of attention.
Although access to out-of-hours crisis care via telephone had risen to 52% - an increase of 3% on last year's figure - that still left a large proportion without an emergency number, she said.
Ms Wallace said: "What is striking about this report is how little improvement there has been in community mental health services, despite the considerable new monies that have been invested: almost half of mental health service users do not have a crisis number to ring out of hours, and families and carers continue to receive inadequate support.
"Evenings and weekends are the times when people feel isolated and most at risk of distress. In Sane's out of hours service we pick up on this unmet need, showing that the monies have not reached the front line."
Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission, agreed there were areas which needed more work, but said: "The people who use community mental health services appear to be satisfied with the service they get overall."
She continued: "The general trends are encouraging, particularly given that many trusts are still getting to grips with providing care to service users within their own communities. But this shouldn't disguise the problems - problems that have been going on for too long. For instance, carers and family members can provide invaluable support to people with mental health problems. It's very important that they in turn receive the support they need, otherwise there is a risk that the burden becomes too great for them to manage."
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