Community Mental healthwatch mystery shop, Salford
Download (PDF 560.88 KB)Summary of report content
The report was produced at the request of users of mental health services in Salford and the project was designed to address barriers to mental health services that have been expressed to Healthwatch Salford over a period of time. The method used was Mystery Shopping carried out by local service users themselves via telephone.
2 planning meetings were held with members of the group and a range of scenarios were devised based around a friend or relative ringing up eight key mental health service providers with concerns about their friend or relative’s mental health. The friend or relative represented as having one or more protected characteristics from the list of nine protected characteristics included in the Equality Act 2010.
The phone calls were made at different times of the day over a period of three months. The phone numbers of services were obtained via the internet providing a limited snapshot during a 2 month period.
Findings:
• Attitude of the frontline staff answering the phones was inconsistent
• People with additional needs - it was highlighted that inconsistent adjustments were being made by service providers
• The need for a more consistent streamlined approach to the phone systems used across the services
• Contact details listed online did not include details for people who did not use speech either through deafness, distress, physical impairments such as aphasia, or use of other languages.
• Lack of consistent, clear and accessible online information about each service, what it does and how it can be reached via telephone, email, text and letter. Text messaging is a very convenient and accessible way to communicate with people.
• Intersectionality means the crossover between two or more forms of discrimination.
• A positive outcome of the project was the formation of the Mental Healthwatch Action Group, a group of mental health service users which has been established to take positive action on health and social care issues that affect mental health service users in Salford.