Commission raises staff and service fears

Mental Health Nursing,  Sep 2004  by Pollock, Laurence

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There were downbeat messages last month concerning mental health services as the Healthcare Commission delivered a triple whammy.

Three quarters of the 30,000 people using mental health services surveyed for the Healthcare Commission's 2003 National Patient Survey said their care was excellent, good or very good. But the figure for adults with physical problems was 90 per cent.

The Commission has also highlighted violence, harassment and bullying of staff, working in the mental health and ambulance sectors.

And it published glum news for mental health trusts in its recently released star ratings. Twice as many as last year were awarded no stars and there were just minor improvements in other categories.

Brian Rogers, professional officer for the MHNA said the reports showed the enormous amount of work needed to make mental health - services, staff and users - a priority.

'We have had many encouraging messages from the government about investment and choice. But it is clear that mental health professionals and service users are both struggling with the current level of services.'

Half of all service users seeking work reported that they received no help from NHS staff. There was a similar lack of help in finding housing.

The survey suggests a poor use of care planning in many places. Too many people are still not involved in drawing up their own care plan or do not understand what is in it. There is insufficient access to talking therapies.

Cliff Prior, Director of Rethink said: 'The report highlights some very serious weaknesses in the system. Speedy access to help in a crisis is still lacking for many people. Extra investment in better crisis care, without denuding the rest of the service of resources, will be needed to meet the new target of offering it to all who need it by the end of next year.'

But King's Fund Chief Executive Niall Dickson said: 'Too often people knock mental health care in this country - this survey explodes the myth that there is widespread dissatisfaction. Three out of four people who use mental health services are pleased with the support they receive and they clearly have good relationships with their doctors, nurses and other mental health professionals.'

The NHS must take action to investigate and address high levels of violence, harassment and bullying of staff, according to a report the Healthcare Commission.

Overall, staff were more satisfied, less stressed and less likely to leave if they felt involved and informed about decisions at work, had feedback on how they were doing their job and were supported by supervisors and managers.

Healthcare Commission chief executive Anna Walker said: 'People who care for everyone's health needs should not have to endure violence or harassment as part of their daily working life. We urge NHS organisations to investigate and address these issues and examine the scope to improve work life balance and reduce work pressure for staff. We will continue to assess and monitor the way staff are managed, including how issues of harassment and bullying are handled, as part of our annual ratings of NHS performance.'

Almost one third of mental health trusts lost a star in the Commission's star ratings assessment. The Commission identified data quality as an issues. Anna Walker said: These trusts are working in an extremely complex area and are less good at pulling together some of the information on their patients.'

www.healthcarecommission.org.uk

Copyright Community Psychiatric Nurses Association Sep 2004
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