Review of mental health services

Healthwatch Coventry conducted a review of mental health services in March 2016. They visited in-patient, rehabilitation and day services to find out about changes that were made to these services and how they are working. The team visited these services' wards using enter and view methods; including surveys and observations, engaging with 25 in-patients, 7 discharged patients, and 14 staff working across the different wards.

Staff were friendly, welcoming and professional. Staff told the team of their dedication to their work and safety of their patients, however, also reported that the morale on in-patient wards was low and described feeling overstretched and frustrated. Concerns about staffing levels were raised, as was the uncertainty about the future due to ongoing reviews of services. Staff felt that they do not have the capacity currently for the Trust’s plan to increase the variety of activities for in-patients. The experience of in-patient care varied depending on which ward patients were on. The team identified a need for improvements in the communication between staff and service users so that residents feel better informed and involved in their choices. Regarding the day services, the team felt that there could be more group sessions for more interaction and stimulation to ensure a positive experience for the patients. Discharge processes need to be better planned so that this is more effective and less stressful for the patient. The majority of patients engaged with said that they were happy with the quality of food during their stay. Across all services, everyone who gave feedback suggested that the smoking ban was ineffective.

The report made a number of recommendations to the wards visited and to the Trust more broadly. These include:

• To ensure that activities are part of the patients’ care planning and that activities are available.

• To ensure that a more consistent quality of day sessions activities and sufficient staff are available to support patients.

• To ensure the gardens are well maintained and better utilised, including removing the obsolete smoking shelters.

• To ensure that the gym is fully utilised and staff are trained to support patient use.

• To ensure that all patient discharge is well planned and better links with external agencies are established.

• To ensure that staff are trained and supported to make use of care plans.

• To review the current policy on hourly monitoring checks at the rehabilitation lodge as residents felt it unnecessary and to review the patient mix at the lodge.

A response from the service provider was included in the report. It was suggested that some of the recommendations have been implemented.