At North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, we believe providing high quality mental health care for each individual person is fundamentally important. Therefore, we are excited to announce that the NHS is launching a major survey on people’s experiences of using mental health services. If you used services in April or May 2023, you could be invited to take part and give your feedback on the quality of support you received.
In last year’s survey, we received 223 responses from adults aged 18 and over, who used the survey to tell us what is working well and what requires improvement.
Based on the information in our last survey we have increased coproduction with service users and carers, including wellbeing college sessions, local care hubs and additional opportunities for feedback. We engaged with the local MoneyWise programme for financial advice and introduced a new telephone system across our Community Mental Health Teams. We really valued the comments received about care planning, co-ordination of care and monitoring of service users who require prescribed medication. The Trust is undergoing transformation around care planning that will improve experience and ensure progress and outcomes are routinely measured. We have also introduced pharmacy roles within the community mental health teams so medication related care can be responded to quickly.
This year, for the first time, the survey will be inviting people aged 16 and over to share their experiences of care. This is really important to help us understand how well young people’s care is transitioned as they move into adult services.
The survey can be completed online or as a paper questionnaire. The survey is confidential and carried out by the Care Quality Commission and a dedicated Survey Coordination Centre at Picker, on behalf of NHS England. The responses are not shared with our staff, so participation will not affect your care or treatment.
The results will be published in the spring of 2024 and will be used to assess Community Mental Health Trusts in England. What we learn will enable us to identify key priorities, aiding our mission to provide the very best care for you and our community.
If you are invited to take part, whether contact with our services was regular or minimal, know every voice is valued.
If invited to take part in the survey and need help completing it, please call 0800 783 1775.
For more information about the survey, please visit http://www.cqc.org.uk/cmhsurvey.
