People in England’s experiences of being cared for in the community for their mental health problems – ranging from depression to psychosis –had not improved since the publication of the corresponding report in 2015, the results of the Care Quality Commission’s Community Mental Health Survey 2016, published last November, revealed
Based on the views of over 13,000 people canvased in 2016, the results revealed that one in three (35%) considered their overall experience of care ‘poor’, rating it as ‘six or below out of 10’, similar to 2015 (36%) and 2014 (34%). A third (32%) did not know who to contact out of office hours in the event of a crisis, while around a quarter (24%) of those who went on to try and contact that person or team because their condition was worsening said they did not get the help they needed during a mental health crisis, (compared with 21% for 2014).
CQC carries out the survey annually with the NHS, asking people for their views on aspects of their care, such as whether they felt they were treated with dignity, or felt involved in decisions about their care.
More positively, around three-quarters (74%) of respondents to the 2016 survey said they were ‘always’ treated with respect and dignity, and 76% had been told who was in charge of organising their care and services. Of these, 97% knew how to contact this person if they had a concern.
Following the survey’s publication, the CQC’s deputy chief inspector of hospitals and lead for mental health, Dr Paul Lelliott, said he would be writing to a number of NHS and community mental health providers ‘demanding action following their performance in this year’s survey of community mental healthcare’.