Local NHS Trust, Southern Health has received the results of a national survey which annually benchmarks the experiences of people using its community mental health services – and the feedback is encouraging.
Southern Health is one of more than 50 NHS mental health trusts across England which participates in the research, which involved canvassing the views of 250 Hampshire patients and service users this year.
The Trust’s overall experience rating saw 55% of respondents give a score of 8, 9 or 10 out of 10 (above the national average of 53% for the same high scores). Of those surveyed, 95% agreed Southern Health (compared to the national average of 93%) treated them with dignity and respect.
94% said they were involved as much as they wanted to be in agreeing their care (again two points higher than the national average) and 83% (compared to an 81% average) confirmed that the Trust had involved a family member or friend as much as they wanted.
Additionally, 83% agreed they had received the crisis care they needed in the past year (the same as the national average); 89% said they were involved in decisions about their medication (also 89% nationally); 87% said healthcare professionals understood how their mental health affected other areas of their lives and a further 68% agreed they had received help for physical health needs in tandem with their mental health needs (compared to a 65% national average for this question).
Chief Executive, Ron Shields commented:
“I want to say thank you to the people who use our services for taking the time to fill out this survey. The results are crucial for us to make sure we focus improvements in the right areas to make sure our services are the best they can be for the people we care for and support. Whilst there is clear room for improvement, the results are positive, and we will be working closely with people who use our services and carer groups to build on this in the coming months.”