NHS chiefs defend Lincolnshire mental health services
Health officials have dismissed suggestions large numbers of mental health patients are not happy with treatment in Lincolnshire.
As reported in the Echo on Monday, three sex abuse victims from Lincolnshire said a lack of help had left them struggling to recover and waiting months for the right treatment.
-
Mental illnesses can be hard to treat.
The Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust - which provides specialist health services for people with mental health problems - apologised and said the cases would be investigated.
In a statement to the Echo, the trust claimed the "vast majority" of people who used its services were satisfied with the quality of care they received.
But an online and postal survey published by NHS Lincolnshire in March this year revealed that 49 per cent of people rated mental health services as poor.
In total 75 people responded, with 37 criticising the service and a further 18 rating it satisfactory, nine as good and 11 as excellent.
NHS Lincolnshire reported a sample of 359 completed its Dignity and Respect questionnaire.
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Chris Slavin said the NHS Lincolnshire survey was contradicted by a more recent report.
"We questioned its credibility at the time in respect of the small number of people surveyed and how the data collection method allowed for duplicate entries," he said.
"These findings are completely contradicted by the annual acute inpatient service user's survey undertaken by the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator of health and adult social care services for England."
City resident Zachary Kellerman, who has used the service for eight years, said he was not surprised to learn nearly 50 per cent of people surveyed had rated the service as poor.
8 Comments
by anon, Lincolnshire
Friday, November 13 2009, 8:54AM
“John - I have had the same problem when I complained. I felt my services were affected by my complaints.
I also find that if you ask for something to be put in your care plan, although they put in it they never follow that bit of it. They only seem to follow the bits that they want put in.
I have been under the trust for years and have never had a questionnaire from them asking if I was happy with the service.”
by skit zoe frenic, on the roof
Thursday, November 12 2009, 5:56PM
“Your funny Zac, why would I wish to know? Do you know about the oxygen dissociation curve in medicine? NO. how about ABA1g and how that effects over 1 million unknowingly in the UK? Not that either? hmmmm try an easy one. Do you know where your funny bone is? you should find it as yours is broken... I will now take a large overdose.It's all your fault you inellectual giant, I am grushed. you Beast, my blood is on your hands”
by Zachary Kellerman, West Ermine
Thursday, November 12 2009, 4:59PM
“As for "Skit Zoe Frenic" (It's Schizophrenic minus the pun, congratulations, you've learned a new word today).
Schizophrenia is not Dissociative Identity Disorder and is in little to no way related to it.
Wait.... you don't know what DiD is?
Maybe you should look it up before making cheap puns.
Ignorance is the common mans' solution to things he does not understand.”
by Zachary Kellerman, West Ermine
Thursday, November 12 2009, 4:56PM
“John,
I would heavily suggest asking your G.P. for a referral to another service.
A CPN should rightly be seeing you -atleast- once every fortnight, if not more often if you require it.
You have the right to change your care plan and have it reviewed whenever you wish - so it's worth asking your care co-ordinator for a review meeting.
It's stressful but it might prove beneficial.
-
Other mental health service users -
As a service user myself, first, and a counsellor second, I would urge you all to complain to Mr. Slavin himself, tell your story to the Echo to bring a constant highlight to the taboo that is mental health, or formally complain against your service to ICAS.
We're unspoken for - I'm thankful for the Echo highlighting mental health.
Rally together and we can make a change.
After formally complaining through ICAS to the STEP team, I have successfully caused their team to review its methods regarding suicidal ideation, para-suicide attempts, suicide attempts and threats of suicide, and improved the service for the better.”
by Anon, Sleaford
Thursday, November 12 2009, 4:18PM
“Well I had to laugh at that. I have just been to the Quality Care Commissions web site and read the results of the survey mentioned above. The trust accepted these results.
It begins
"We use national surveys to find out about the experience of service users when receiving care and treatment from mental health care providers. At the start of 2009, a questionnaire was sent to 850. Responses were received from 82 service users at Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. "
If they consider 75 responses too small a response to take the result seriously, why are they so happy to accept 82 responses as enough - only 7 more people responded.
I have received appalling service from Mental Health Servcies.”
by Anon, Lincoln
Thursday, November 12 2009, 11:44AM
“As a "service user" I would rate it as appalling.”
by John, Lincoln
Thursday, November 12 2009, 10:55AM
“I have nearly forty years experience of using Lincolnshire's mental health services, from the days of St John's Hospital in the 70s and 80s through to today's "Care in the Community". I have had some excellent service, and some that could only be described as "poor". Over the forty years, the good does considerably outweigh the bad, I feel.
These days, I see a Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN), who visits me at my home every four weeks. She is excellent. However, due to pressure from her managers, my visits have been reduced from two-weekly to the current four-weekly, and there is talk of stopping them altogether. I feel I need fortnightly visits to keep an eye on my mental health, as I don't always spot the warning signs in time to prevent a relapse.
I feel that non-medically qualified managers are making clinical decisions on the basis of finance, not clinical need. The Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (LPFT) has been run as a business since it gained Foundation status. The "S" in NHS stands for "Service", and that's what it should be. It should not have to make a profit.
I complained to LPFT about the reduction in my service, and I feel that, as I'd had the temerity to complain, I was threatened with the complete withdrawal of my service. This is not right, and not good patient care.”
by W.Wilkins, Lincoln
Thursday, November 12 2009, 9:34AM
“Firstly i wouldn't believe a word the NHS chiefs tell me,judging by how they run things, and secondly can 49% of people really be wrong! I think not.
These people who run the NHS just seem to think that wallpapering over the cracks will make them go away, well as were seeing here that's clearly not the case.
The people running the NHS need to start actually earning the high salary's that their paid, because judging by what we read here that's not happening at all, It's just another day at the office for them!
I say to them start listening to what people are telling you and stop sweeping it under the mat and hoping it will go away!”