Legal News

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has said that nearly one in three mental health patients is being let down by NHS mental health services – with some of the most vulnerable patients left with “no idea” of where to turn in the event of a crisis.

The CQC surveyed 13,500 patients using NHS mental health services and found 32% were unclear about where they should go if they experienced a crisis in their mental health.

Many mental health trusts across England and Wales are cutting budgets and amalgamating services – with some trusts offering more telephone support to acute care patients in a crisis

Acute care patients are usually admitted to hospital for inpatient treatment in a crisis, but a shortage of beds has meant some trusts sending patients hundreds of mile away for inpatient treatment.

Some mental health trusts are also increasingly offering telephone support 24/7 to prevent acute care mental health patients from becoming institutionalised in mental health hospitals.

However, changes to services can leave patients with no idea of the structure of services being offered – or where to turn in the event of needing urgent mental health care.

The CQC survey revealed that some patients are experiencing problems with communication about drugs and lack of contact with their mental health care service providers – and do not feel “involved” in the planning of their care.

The CQC found that only 53% patients prescribed new drugs were given information about their new prescriptions which they felt they could understand.

Only 57% of mental health patients surveyed said they felt they were sufficiently involved in planning their care – the CQC is calling for more to be done to involve patients in planning and reviewing their mental health care.

Furthermore, nearly one-quarter said they had not been told who was in charge of their care – and one-fifth felt they did not see staff overseeing their care enough.

The CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Dr Paul Lelliot, warned mental health providers that “poor performance” on the CQC survey might result in an early inspection by the watchdog – and failing to act on the findings could also have an impact on their ratings.

“It is clear from this survey that many people do not feel well-served by community mental health services,” Dr Lelliott said.

“Leaders and staff from mental health trusts should reflect on what they could do differently and better to ensure people are engaged effectively and involved in their care – and take action to ensure that people get the help and support they need.

“The survey will inform our decisions about how soon we inspect a trust.

“We will soon start to rate these mental health services – and how well they have responded to the results of this survey will play a part in determining our overall judgement of trusts,” he added.

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of specialist mental health solicitors and can advise mental health patients on access to services and detention under the Mental Health Act.

Duncan Lewis is also the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services and in some cases may be able to advise the Nearest Relative or carer of a mental health patient on issues such as initiating treatment reviews.

For expert legal advice on mental health care, contact the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 0203 114 1124.