Mental health service in Northumberland 'on the up'
GOOD local NHS services are important to the communities of Northumberland - and patients have given community mental health services the thumbs up.
For the fifth year running the Healthcare Commission has surveyed more than 14,000 adult patients across England asking for their views on the local adult community mental health services provided by 68 trusts.
Patients were asked for their views on a number of areas of their care including the health professionals who cared for them, medication and the support available to them and their carers.
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust provides a range of mental health and disability services for the people of Northumberland, and the survey showed that not only are its community mental health services continuing to improve but many aspects match the best in the country.
In 13 areas the trust's services were rated amongst the top 20% of mental health trusts in the country, and in six areas the trust matched the best rating in England.
These top ratings were for:
- Psychiatrists listening carefully to patients,
- Patients having trust and confidence in their psychiatrists,
- Psychiatrists treating patients with respect and dignity,
- Patients having enough time to discuss their condition and treatment,
- Other health professionals treating patients with respect,
- The speed of response for out-of- hours support.
Jules Preston, trust chairman, said: "The views of our patients are very important to us and we are delighted that those people surveyed have again rated our community mental health services so highly.
"Mental health services have changed dramatically in recent years. Fewer people now need hospital care as more people are supported in their local communities by a range of services. So it's important that the people we support are happy with those services.
"The annual survey has shown a year on year improvement in these local services and that is testament to all the hard work our staff do in the community.
"However we are not complacent and we will continue to work hard to develop and further improve our services over the coming years."
The full 2008 Community Mental Health Survey results are on the Healthcare Commission website: www.healthcarecommission.org.uk/PatientsSurveyMentalHealth2008.
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This is definitely a good sign that the mental health services getting good rating by service users, especially during this times as psychiatry services are criticized for strictly following medical model and not investing time to listen to the client and not applying psychotherapeutic methods. Kudos!